Sari and Transformers Prime: Episode 2
by FictionFan1024
Summary: This episode picks up after "Episode One". Thanks to her rescue of Jack, Miko and Raf, Optimus was able to use the Omega Keys to thwart the Decepticons. The Autobots have restored Cybertron! But much work is to be done, and Sari will assist. But the war is still going on; Sari and Jazz will work with Team Prime to battle Megatron and defend Earth and Cybertron
1. Chapter 1

**This episode picks up immediately after Chapter 14 of Episode One. Arcee has returned to Earth to fetch Sari. Optimus needs her help repairing some vital systems in the newly-rebirthed Cybertron.**

**NOTE: In this story, when Bumblebee is on Cybertron and communicating with other Autobots, he will be doing so in Cybertronian, which is all electronic; this means that, even though he still lacks a voice box, he isn't using it (wouldn't work in the vacuum of space anyway). Therefore, there will be no need to represent his beeps and boops, so I will be simply showing his speech as normal text. Of course when he is speaking to humans, I'll use the same protocol that I used in Episode One.**

* * *

The space bridge opened up onto the surface of the newly-rebirthing planet, and two objects sped out of the circular opening. One was a blue motorcycle; the other was a very small fembot, flying from plasma jets streaming out of her pedes and servos. Once out of the bridge, they stopped. The motorcycle transformed and the Autobot stood to her full height. The smaller bot landed gracefully beside her. They were greeted by their Commanding Officer.

"Welcome to Cybertron, Sari," said Optimus.

"Thank you, sir," she responded. Turning to his Ninja Scout, he said, "Thank you for bringing Sari, Arcee."

She nodded, and smiling, looked down at the Technorganic. "Sari was glad to join us and assist in our efforts."

Sari's optics took in the panorama. Highways glowed around her, stretching away in the distance to vast horizons. Towering citadels, while severely damaged, were once again lit up. Primus brought life to the Autobot's home world once more.

"Glad to be here! How can I help?"

"Many things must be done," said Arcee. "Megatron is still out there, in command of the Nemesis. Bumblebee is currently botting the long-range scanners, but primary systems are failing to come up. We need your help finding out what's wrong – that is priority one. And Bulkhead is at the comm station on Moon Base Two, sending Optimus Prime's message out to Autobots throughout the galaxy. He needs help with the dish. That's priority two."

"If we can get those two running, then we'll be ahead of the game."

"Do you think you can use your mod to effect repairs on those systems?" asked Optimus.

"I shouldn't have a problem at all, sir," she responded. "Which tower is Bumblebee in?"

"Just to your right," said Optimus, pointing to the large citadel before her. And Sari headed in that direction.

* * *

Sari made it up to the control room. "Hey, Bee!"

He turned around. "Sari! How are you! Boy I sure could use your help. How's Raf doing?"

"He's doing well! I'll fill you in after we get this long-range scanner up and running. What's going on – or rather, what's not?"

"I powered it up, but it keeps shutting down on me. And when I try to access the diagnostic systems, it locks me out."

"Let me take a look." And Sari went to the main control panel. She placed her servos over the Autobot keypad. Her digits opened up and pads separated from each one. They penetrated the surface. Immediately her optics changed; they went from blue/white to all white, and she began "seeing" the internal workings of the Cybertronian systems.

"I'm entering the long-range scanner's main controller, Bee," she said. "Hold on, the entire system is locked with an encryption key. That's your problem."

"Oh no! The last bot to work the system must have done that to keep the Decepticons from using it. But it's been so long, I'm sure the key is lost – how are we going to get in now?"

The triangular-shaped appendages on Sari's helm started glowing blue. "It's OK, Bee. I've got this," she said.

"Eh? What's going on? Why are those things on your helm glowing blue?"

"A decryption mod I have. I'm breaking the encryption – not that I want to, I'm sure the bot that did this had good reason and all, but it's the only way we have to get in. It'll take me a few nanokliks…there! I'm in." Her appendages stopped glowing.

"Man Sari, you're full of surprises!"

"Hey, you needed a locksmith, right?" she smiled.

"A who?"

"Sorry, Earth term. Someone to break in. OK, let's see what we've got here. Looking at the most recent log entries. Wow! Long time ago!"

She read through the logs. "Did you know Wedge?"

"No, but I heard about him. They called him a 'boy genius'. Why?"

"This last entry was made by him. He's the one who put in the encryption. His entry says: 'Decepticons storming the long-range scanner tower. Shutting it down. Putting in encryption so they can't start it up again to use for their purposes. To any Autobots finding this log, I have startup instructions in this entry: 'and he gives the location."

"Wow. Can you find his file?"

"Looking…yes, I have it!"

"Oh, thank Primus!" Bumblebee sighed.

"We ought to let Optimus know – this is a bit of Autobot history here!"

"You're right, Sari!" And she retrieved the instructions so they could bring the long-range scanner system up properly. Working together, they followed Wedge's directions. After they were done, Sari checked everything out.

"Everything looks good, Bee!" And she started exiting the system. The prods on her digits returned, and her optics changed back to blue/white. "Give it a go!"

Bumblebee powered it up. The monitor came to life and displayed the location of all starships, their origination, manifest and status in a 30 hic radius.

"It's working! Sari, you rock!"

"Cool! Now, about Raf. I had to rescue him, Jack and Miko from Starscream. They're fine."

"What happened?!"

"Remember how I stayed behind after you all left for Cybertron? Well it was a good thing that I did. The Decepticons thought they could abduct the kids and hold them for ransom, to force you all to hand over the Omega Keys. I was in the High School library when they showed up. The kids didn't know that you were on Cybertron and couldn't pick them up from school."

"Wha…where was Ratchet?!"

"He was at Outpost Omega One, botting the space bridge. But it's OK, I was there. Hey, I took out the Vehicons and throttled Starscream. He left empty-handed. The kids are now at the base."

"Unfortunately, I blew my cover. Agent Fowler's gonna have my helm for sure!" she sighed.

"Oh, Sari! You saved them! That's all that matters!"

A message came in on the console. "Bumblebee, what's the status of the scanner?"

"Up and running, Optimus! Sari fixed it!"

"Excellent job, Sari! Meet us downstairs and we will get you over to where Bulkhead is working."

"Yes, sir." And Sari got ready to leave the tower. "OK, Bee, duty calls."

"See you later, Sari! Thanks again for your help!"

* * *

Leaving the citadel, Sari met back up with Optimus and Arcee. She asked "How do I get to Moon Base Two? "

"Well, we do have one thing that works, and that is a space bridge," responded Arcee. "Optimus will bridge you to the control room where Bulkhead is working." And they entered another tower. This one looked like a transport terminal, with bridge tunnels lining a huge circular room. In the center was a large control booth.

Optimus got on the comm. "Bulkhead, Sari to bridge to you."

"Roger, Optimus, lookin' forward to her assistance," came the response.

The bridge lit up, and Sari walked in. Coming out, she was met by the big green bot. "Hey, Sari! How ya doin'?"

"Good, Bulkhead. How can I help?"

"I've got a recorded message here from Optimus that he needs me to send out to all Autobots. But I'm havin' a hard time getting the dish to point out in every direction. The diagnostics are coming back OK, but some of the coordinates I've entered don't give me a positive response."

"Let's see what I can find out." And Sari entered the communication's targeting system.

"You're right, Bulkhead, so far, the diagnostic systems are reporting back that everything's fine, and…whoa!"

"What? What is it?"

Sari was silent for several nanokliks. Her face registered concern. She shut her optics, and went into meditation.

"Sari? Are, are you OK?"

"I'm OK, Bulkhead. Just, let me be for a bit."

He stepped back quietly and wondered what was going on. She remained in this state for what seemed like many, many cycles. Finally, the pads on her digits retracted, and she opened her optics. They returned to their regular blue/white. Tired, she sat back.

"Sorry about that." Sari got up and looked underneath the control panel. Bulkhead started to talk, but she motioned for him to be quiet. Being smaller than the average Autobot, she was able to easily find what she was looking for: a bug. She put her servo over it, and several prods came out of her digits and entered the device. A spark and blue smoke emitted from the bug, and her prods retracted. When she was done, she got back up and approached Bulkhead.

"We need to bring Optimus up here."

"Bring him here? Why? Can't we just contact him?"

"No, no further discussions about Moon Base Two should take place over any form of transmission, not yet."

"What's going on?"

"Moon Base Two has been corrupted by Soundwave."

* * *

Optimus, Bulkhead, and Sari met in one of Moon Base Two's top-secret conference rooms. Sari had entered the room's system beforehand to make sure there were no bugs or other listening devices planted inside.

"When I went into Moon Base Two's communication targeting system, I started querying the various sub-systems looking for anomalies. That's when it told me about recent changes."

"Hold on," said Bulkhead, "it 'told' you?"

"Yes. My mod gives me the ability to 'speak' to any electronic system. It can then guide me to where the problem, or problems, lies. It told me that within the last decacycle, there had been modifications made. I knew at that point that something was wrong."

"That's when you heard me go 'whoa'," she smiled.

"How did you know it was Soundwave?" asked Optimus.

"It wasn't that hard. Although he doesn't have a voice, he has a huge ego. He apparently can't help putting his signature on his handiwork. I saw his name on the code."

"Can you remove it?"

"Yes, but it will take a while. Not all of it is inside the system. Some of it is in hardware components welded onto the surface, and in key structures inside the moon. We also have to remove them in a distinct sequence; otherwise they will set off a failsafe system."

"Failsafe, as in cause an explosion?" asked Bulkhead.

"Precisely. Megatron apparently thought it appropriate that if he couldn't have Moon Base One for himself, then no bot should have it. And any Autobot trying to undo Soundwave's handiwork without knowing precisely how should pay the ultimate price."

Optimus sighed. "Thank you, Sari, for uncovering this. How shall we proceed?"

"First, I need to go back into the system to learn the sequence for disabling the listening component. Soundwave is tapping into our communications right now – that is why I said we had to stop our transmissions immediately. If he finds out we are attempting to take apart the system, Megatron may set off the failsafe remotely before we can get started."

"I'll put in some background noises and conversations to make him think his bugs are still working. Then we can begin. It will take the three of us working together. I need to get to Control Center One; that's where I can enter the main system. From there, I can direct you on the location of the hardware and the proper removal sequence."

"Let's get started. Bulkhead, you and I can work with Sari."

"Sounds good," he replied. And exiting the conference room, they got on a transport to get to Control Center One.

The transport first headed down a long lit corridor. Moon Base Two's interior transportation matrix is built like a very rapidly moving subway system. The tunnel they were traveling through abruptly ended and the three found themselves in a brightly lit, cavernous transport nexus. As their transport continued on over a long bridge, Sari looked down and saw thousands of other similar conveyors far below. When fully staffed, Moon Base One's transportation system takes bots to various sections of its many communications terminals.

They came to a crossover section where the transport stopped and transformed into an elevator. Down, down, down it went, as it descended miles into the center of Moon Base Two. Every few minutes, they could see their transport pass by similar nexus points like the first.

Finally, their journey ended. They stepped out and the main doors of Control Center One stood before them. Sari silently approached the main console and entered the master control system. She navigated to the communications control and patched in a long-running loop.

"That ought to keep him busy," she thought. She then proceeded to shut down all of the listening systems.

She stepped away from the console and walked back to Optimus and Bulkhead. "Alright, we can talk freely now," she told the two. "Let's begin taking apart his toys."

"He's got his own transmission equipment attached to dish one outside, but first, there are several bombs planted throughout Moon Base Two. I'll have to use P-O-M to find and disarm them." And Sari got down in Lotus position and began to meditate. She spread her Cyber-Ninja senses out through that sector.

After several cycles, she got up. "There were three near Control Center One. They've been disarmed. I need to go to six other sectors; my P-O-M can only reach so far, sorry."

"That's alright, Sari," said Optimus. "We are with you."

"You betcha!" Said Bulkhead, "let's go."

And taking the transport, they proceeded to the other areas, where Sari was able to disarm all the other bombs.

"Alright, with that taken care of, we can now remove the listening toys," she smirked. And returning to Control Center One, she returned to the control panel and guided Optimus and Bulkhead in the removal of Soundwave's devices.

When the final piece was done, they went back to where Sari had first met Bulkhead. "Now, let's fix the dish and get Optimus' message out!"

* * *

On the deck of the Nemesis, Soundwave was listening to the transmissions emanating from Moon Base Two. Megatron walked in. "Ah, Soundwave, nothing coming from the Autobots on Cybertron, I take it?" The Decepticon turned and played back the most recent series of sounds that were coming from Sari's loop.

"Poor Optimus. Unable to muster his troops," he sneered.

But then, an alert came over the comm device. "Lord Megatron! A broadcast has begun streaming from Cybertron!"

"WHAT?! Patch it in here at once!" And the broadcast, repeated over and over, came out thus:

"**This message goes out to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: I am Optimus Prime, and I am here to tell you that Cybertron has been brought back to life. We have retrieved the Omega Keys and activated the Omega Lock. I am calling all Autobots to return to our home world so that together we can once again rebuild that which was lost."**

Megatron turned to Soundwave. "What happened?! I thought Moon Base Two had been disabled! Activate the fail safe device at once!" And Soundwave pressed a pad on his console.

Several cycles passed. "Well?" asked Megatron. "Did Moon Base Two explode, or didn't it?" Soundwave stared at his console. He pressed several pads. No response! Frustrated, he slammed his fist.

"I take it, your fail safe devices have failed to accomplish what we set out for them to do?" growled Megatron. Soundwave frantically searched through the record databanks looking for clues as to what may have gone wrong. Finding something, he turned to his master and played this:

_"Bulkhead, Sari to bridge to you."_

_"Roger, Optimus, lookin' forward to her assistance,"_

_"Hey, Sari! How ya doin'?"_

_"Good, Bulkhead. How can I help?"_

"_I've got a recorded message here from Optimus that he needs me to send out to all Autobots. But I'm havin' a hard time getting the dish to point out in every direction. The diagnostics are coming back OK, but some of the coordinates I've entered don't give me a positive response."_

"_Let's see what I can find out."_

"_You're right, Bulkhead, so far, the diagnostic systems are reporting back that everything's fine, and…whoa!"_

"_What? What is it?"_

"_Sari? Are, are you OK?"_

"_I'm OK, Bulkhead. Just, let me be for a bit."_

"_Sorry about that."_

_[electronic zapping sounds, then silence]_

Soundwave stopped the replay. Megatron growled. "Her again?! That meddling little bot! So she is responsible for this! I will make her pay!

**So this is the beginning of Episode Two. What do you think? Megatron has once again been thwarted in his efforts, and he will do everything in his power to deal with this "meddling" little bot.**

**I have some ideas about what he will attempt, and that will be one of the themes of this story line. Another will be of course, the attempt to develop the two-way connection between this dimension and Sari's home. And of course, Miko is itching for a visit to Cybertron!**

**The war is still going on, and new characters will show up, both Autobot and Decepticon. This story definitely falls away from the "Season 3: Beast Hunters" story line, but I will be bringing in themes from it (think: Shockwave and Predaking). And who knows, an evil Sari Decepticon clone (thanks to LuisJM for that one!)?**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The rest of this story will be needing lots more Autobots and Decepticons so I'll be bringing some in to supplement the few that were in the "Transformers: Prime" series. There are many from the G1 series that I'm thinking of bringing in; let me know if you have suggestions for others!**

The Communications Console on Moon Base Two crackled with a faint message. Bulkhead adjusted the pitch, roll and yaw of the dish to get a better signal. "This is Cybertron Moon Base Two," he announced, "Bulkhead here. Repeat your communication."

"Bulkhead? This is Rodimus Major. I received your message. Is it true? Let me speak to Optimus Prime."

Optimus got on the comm. "This is Optimus Prime, Rodimus. Yes, it is true. Cybertron has been restored. From where are you communicating?"

"Optimus! I am commander of a colony of Autobots on Gorlam Prime. There are over 100 of us here. I would like to meet with you. Is the space bridge operational?"

"It is indeed. Let me return to the surface. Give your coordinates to Bulkhead and he will relay them to me at the space bridge."

"Bulkhead, send Rodimus Major's coordinates to Arcee when you get them, and continue to monitor for additional messages."

"Will do!"

"Sari, come with me."

"Yes, sir."

Optimus got on his comm. "Arcee, two to return to the space bridge nexus."

"Roger, Optimus," and a bridge opened up for them to return to the surface.

"Arcee, we have received a message from Rodimus Major."

"Rodimus? That's wonderful!"

"Bulkhead is receiving his coordinates and will send them to you. Open up a space bridge and he will join us here on Cybertron for a meeting."

"Yes, sir!" And she received the coordinates from Bulkhead. A bridge opened up, and two Autobots drove out. They transformed into their bipedal modes.

Optimus walked up to the two and offered his servo in greeting. "Welcome home, you two," he said.

Rodimus grabbed his servo, shaking it heartily. "Thank you, Optimus! And I think you know my Head of Security."

Optimus turned to Rodimus' second-in-command. "Good to see you again, Nightbeat."

Nightbeat offered his servo. "The pleasure is all mine, Optimus Prime."

As they shook servos, Rodimus looked around the glowing space bridge nexus. "You know, Optimus, when we received your message, we thought surely it was a hoax. But now that I am standing here before you, I know in my Spark it is true!"

"Indeed it is, Rodimus, and we owe it to the efforts of many brave Autobots, some who are here working on Cybertron, and others who are back on the planet Earth." Arcee stepped down from the space bridge controls and approached the two. "Rodimus, you remember Arcee," he said, motioning to her.

"Rodimus, so good to see you again," the Ninja Scout came up to shake servos. "Nightbeat, nice to meet you."

"And I'd like to introduce you both to another member of my team, a Technorganic visitor from another dimension who has been an invaluable soldier in battling Megatron and the Decepticons." His arm moved down. "This is Sari, a Cyber-Ninja. Sari, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to some old friends, Rodimus Major, and Nightbeat."

"It is an honor to meet you both, Rodimus Major, Nightbeat," said Sari, holding up her servo.

"The honor is all mine, Sari," Rodimus replied, bending down to shake her servo. "I've never met a Technorganic, although I have heard of Cyber-Ninjas."

"Pleased to meet you, Sari," said Nightbeat. "Cyber-Ninja, eh? We could use you on Gorlam Prime," he smiled. "We've been under assault at times from the Vestial Imperium, and an occasional raid from Decepticon scout ships."

They left the space bridge nexus building and headed outside as Optimus explained the process by which the Omega Keys were used to bring Cybertron back to life.

Rodimus and Nightbeat took in the rebirthing landscape. "This is incredible, Optimus. I didn't think I'd ever see the day."

"Nor I," said Nightbeat. "We must plan how we will take the word back to the colony."

"How many Autobots do you have there?" asked Arcee.

"We've built a thriving community, living among the robotic inhabitants of the planet. We have 25 archivists and engineers, 30 construction bots and 50 soldiers," said Rodimus. "Nightbeat is in command of our defense platoons."

"It's been our home for several millennia," said Nightbeat, "but it's not Cybertron."

"Do you think they will all want to return?" Arcee wondered.

"I'm sure most will, Arcee," said Rodimus. "Some may wish to stay. We've built good relationships with the indigenous population of the planet. Nightbeat and I were the only ones who intercepted Optimus' message, and I have not yet relayed it to the other Autobots. I first wanted to make sure it was true."

"How many do you have here?" asked Nightbeat.

"Other than Arcee, Sari and myself, there is Bulkhead botting the communications equipment on Moon Base Two, and Bumblebee on the long-range scanners," said Optimus.

"That's definitely not enough!" said Rodimus. "I can get at least 50 bots here immediately, and we can help get the word out to other Autobots in our sector."

"It looks like you could certainly make use of our construction bots," said Nightbeat, looking around, "as well as soldiers. We need to defend Cybertron."

"Let's get the space bridges up and running," said Rodimus, "and we can start populating Cybertron."

"That's one problem," said Arcee. "Only one space bridge is operational. Sari, can you take a look at them?"

"Right away!" And she went back in.

Rodimus watched as Sari ran back inside. "Cyber-Ninja and engineer?" He asked.

"Sari has some…special talents," smiled Arcee.

….

Meanwhile, on the Nemesis, Megatron was pondering the best way to deal with these setbacks. He turned to his lieutenant. "Tell me, Starscream, if Optimus succeeds in his quest to draw all Autobots to Cybertron, then the scales begin to tip in his favor. How can we counter that?"

Starscream rubbed his chin. "Well, for starters, we should definitely find a way to counter that little meddling bot Sari."

Megatron glared at him. "A nice sentiment, Starscream, but how?"

Starscream flinched at the sudden negative reaction. Thinking quickly, he fell back on an old expertise of his. "Cloning a copy more aligned to our cause?"

Megatron turned and walked away, as if to think out loud. "Hmm, yes. But as I recall, Starscream, you do not seem to possess skills much beyond cloning yourself."

Starscream let out a nervous laugh. "Yes, indeed. However, we did have a scientist who was quite able, as I recall. Sadly, he was destroyed in a space bridge accident."

Megatron clasped his servos behind his back and turned towards Starscream. "You are referring, of course, to our dear, departed Shockwave."

"Er, yes." The line of questioning was beginning to make him nervous. Where was Megatron going with this?

"And his demise – of this you are sure?"

Now he was getting flustered! His voice getting higher, he blurted out, "He was at his facility on Cybertron when he was attacked! There was an explosion which collapsed the power core chamber! Everyone knows this!"

Megatron turned and walked away again. "Yes, it was a great loss – apparently." Stepping toward the door, he opened it, and standing there with Knockout was Shockwave!

In mock surprise and sarcastic tone, Megatron raised an arm and called out, "Shockwave! This is quite an unexpected turn! I thought you'd perished on Cybertron!" He turned to glare at Starscream, who cowered before him.

"H-he lives? I mean, y-y-yes, Lord Megatron thought you'd perished - as did we all," was all that Starscream could offer in response.

"Reports of my demise were greatly premature," said Shockwave.

"Perhaps, Shockwave, you could enlighten my poor, addled second-in-command," said Megatron, smirking at the now miserably humbled Starscream. "Tell him what you relayed to me after I rescued you."

"A pair of Autobots infiltrated my facility on Cybertron," said Shockwave to Starscream, "sabotaging my space bridge. I gave chase, but failed to accurately calculate the outcome. One of the Autobots struck me in the optic. I awoke in the rubble, blinded."

"It soon became clear that I was marooned on our dead planet, with no means of communication. In time, I repaired my wounds and resumed my experiments. The solitude enabled me to make tremendous advances in my research."

"Until one day, my instruments detected a massive surge of unidentifiable energy. I traveled to investigate its origin at the edge of the Sea of Rust. There in the distance I observed Optimus using the Omega Lock to bring Cybertron back to life."

"I also saw Lord Megatron flying overhead, where I hailed him. He told me to return to my facility, where he would send a space bridge so I could come to the Nemesis."

"It leaves one unanswered question," said Shockwave, walking towards Starscream. "Why was I left for scrap? Abandoned? Why?"

Megatron came and stood over his frightened lieutenant. "So, Starscream, regarding Shockwave's so-called demise – is there anything you'd care to add?"

Starscream held up his servos and yelled, "The last thing anyone witnessed at our end was Shockwave charging into the space bridge portal as the power core chamber exploded! No one saw him come back out! I swear, we thought there was no way he could have survived!"

He quivered in fear at Megatron's withering stare and Shockwave's single large red optic looking down at him. Finally Shockwave said, "I find your reply to be…logical."

Starscream sighed at his response. Shockwave walked away, while Megatron smiled, satisfied that the humiliating dress down was over with. Almost as an afterthought, Starscream blurted out, "But you will be pleased to know that I avenged your seeming demise by personally terminating the Autobot, Cliffjumper."

"Careful, Starscream," mocked Knockout, "you may dislocate a landing gear patting yourself on the back," to which Starscream sneered.

"Now, allow me to clarify the new chain of command," said Megatron. "While Starscream will retain authority over military operations, Shockwave will be my First Lieutenant in charge of all scientific endeavors."

"To that end, Shockwave, Starscream and I were just discussing a particular problem. There is a tiny, but very powerful Autobot who has been a vexatious thorn in my side. We think the best way to counterbalance that threat is to build a clone of her, a Decepticon clone. Someone who can be just as powerful, yet loyal to me. Can that be done?"

"Yes, my Lord," said Shockwave. "With a copy of the Autobot's CNA, a clone can be built without much difficulty."

"But there is a catch," responded Megatron. "This is no ordinary Autobot. "This is a Technorganic. "She is half-Cybertronian, half-human. And, the Autobot seems to possess a near incalculable weaponry array."

Shockwave thought for a moment. "Cloning a being of mixed species would also require a copy of its DNA. And to combine the two is much more difficult. Logic dictates the effort would demand the contributions of a Decepticon possessing significant medical expertise in that area. Lacking such knowledge, I would need an assistant. I know of just such a specialist: a medical scientist familiar with merging species. He has performed scores of experiments on many different specimens, organic and robotic, several of which were actually successful."

"Oh no," shivered Knockout, "not him!"

"You are referring, I assume," said Megatron, "to Scalpel?"

"Yes, my Lord. His lab is over on Hydrus Four."

"Very well. Starscream! Knockout! Prepare the space bridge. I wish for both of you to travel to Hydrus Four! Locate Scalpel and inquire whether he is available to assist Shockwave in his cloning endeavors."

….

Arcee, Rodimus, Nightbeat and Optimus walked back in to the space bridge nexus. "All bridges up and running, Optimus," said Sari.

"Great job, Sari, thank you," said Optimus.

"Optimus and I are going up to Gorlam Prime," said Rodimus. "Optimus will speak to our colony about Cybertron. Why don't you join us, Sari? The indigenous robotic residents are much smaller than Autobots; in fact they are just about your height. Your presence can let them see that Autobots come in all sizes."

"Thank you, Rodimus Prime, I would be glad to join you!" Sari responded.

"Then it is agreed," said Optimus. "Arcee, three to bridge to Gorlam Prime." And Optimus and Rodimus transformed into their alt modes while Sari powered up the plasma boosters on her pedes and servos. The bridge opened up and the three left for the distant planet.

….

Starscream and Knockout prepared to journey to Hydrus Four. "What's your objection to this Scalpel anyway?" asked Starscream. "Professional jealousy?"

Knockout scoffed. "You wish! I take it you've never met the good doctor?"

"No, can't say I ever had the pleasure, why?"

"Let's just say he's equal parts medic, engineer, and butcher. Sure, he may look harmless enough – he's tiny – with his big, inquisitive eyes. But beware! He can quickly and handily disassemble most technological devices... or life-forms. Unfortunately, when he goes to put them back together, he always has a few parts left over."

"Not too many scruples, even for a Decepticon. If I were you, I wouldn't let him get too close. Before you know it, he'll have your arm off and taking it apart before you could say 'Hey! What're you doing?'"

"Oh, you're exaggerating!" Starscream scoffed.

"Riiight.." Knockout rolled his optics.

"Commander Starscream, Knockout, the space bridge is ready for you," said a bridge drone. And the two transformed and sped off.

**Two space bridges, two destinations. One to speak to Autobots about returning to Cybertron, the other to fetch an assistant for Shockwave to build an evil Sari clone (and thanks to LuisJM for the idea of making Scalpel Shockwave's assistant!).**

**Other Autobots will respond to Bulkhead on Moon Base Two, of course! But Gorlam Prime is a large community, and Optimus can certainly use their help. Sari will also have an interesting experience meeting the native residents!**

**As I said, if you have any favorite Gen 1 Autobots or Decepticons for this story, let me know! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**We continue with these two space bridge trips. Two obviously contrasting purposes, one honorable, one dishonorable.**

A space bridge opened up in the communications center of Gorlam Prime. Two vehicles and a small Technorganic in "bot" mode came out. The vehicles transformed into their bipedal mode and the Technorganic landed beside them.

"Optimus, Sari, welcome to Gorlam Prime," said Rodimus Major.

"Thank you," they replied.

Sari looked around. The communications center resembled the one Bulkhead was botting back on Moon Base Two, with a console controlling an array of deep space dishes. One thing was different, though. Alongside the Autobot-sized controls were much smaller sections, with stairways that allowed users her size to navigate the various areas. "These must be for the native bots," she realized, "they work side-by-side with the Autobots here."

"I see you looking at the Micromaster controls," said Rodimus. "We have a cooperative relationship with the indigenous population here, and so, we adapted our Autobot structures to allow us to work together more easily."

"I take it they were not here when my message came over your communications system?" asked Optimus.

"No, this was a slow day," chuckled Rodimus, "so everyone was excused from work – can you believe it? The most important day in our history here, and were it not for Nightbeat and myself pulling maintenance duty, your message wouldn't have been picked up when it first came across."

"I imagine it was quite a surprise," smiled Sari.

"You have no idea! We first thought someone here was pulling a prank – not a very humorous one at that. My first impulse was to get on the horn and say, 'Very funny! Is that you Bluestreak?' But I thought better of it and decided to respond as I did."

"What would you recommend be our first order of business?" asked Optimus.

"Let's meet with my Special Operations Head. His office is right next door." And they left the comm center and entered the next room. Seeing them enter, the bot stood up. A shocked look came to his face. "Rodimus! And...Optimus Prime?"

"Jazz, it's been a long time, my friend," said Optimus, shaking servos.

"Indeed it has, my man! What brings you to Gorlam Prime?" Looking down, Jazz spied Sari. "And who is your friend?"

"Jazz, please let me introduce you to a member of my crew. This is Sari. She is a Technorganic Cyber-Ninja."

"Pleased to meet you, Jazz!" said Sari, offering her servo. "

"Well, Sari ma'am, an honor to make your acquaintance," he replied, shaking servos.

Jazz scratched his helm. "What is a Technorganic? Is that another type of Micromaster?"

"A Technorganic is a half-Autobot, half-organic," explained Sari. "I'm not a Micromaster. I am this size because my organic half is that of an Earth human."

"Ah! Gotcha. Very cool! We live among Micromasters here; they're just about your size. I had never heard of a Technorganic before. Are there many of you?"

"Not that I know of, Jazz. You see, I'm from a parallel dimension. In my world, there are also Autobots. In fact, we have a Jazz! He is my Cyber-Ninja Sensei."

"What's more, he's joined me here. I hope you get a chance to meet him."

"Whoa! Another Jazz?! Here?" he laughed, looking at Optimus. "Man! You sure there's room in our universe for more than one Jazz, Optimus?"

"Without a doubt," said Optimus. "In fact, you two would make a mighty force against the Decepticons," he smiled.

"So what brings you two here to Gorlam Prime?"

"A very important reason. That's why we came to see you, Jazz," said Rodimus. "Nightbeat and I intercepted Optimus' message. Cybertron is alive again!"

"What?!" Jazz collapsed back down in his chair!

"It's true, Jazz," said Optimus. "We have retrieved the Omega Keys and opened the Omega Lock. Primus has brought life to our home world once again. That is why I am here, to announce the news to all Autobots."

"We must call an assembly!" Jazz got back up. "Come with me to the meeting hall."

* * *

Starscream and Knockout arrived on Hydrus Four. Stepping out of the space bridge, they entered a vast arena, where they were greeted by a medical bot. "Welcome to Hydrus Four! Is there a particular condition for which you require treatment?"

"Er, no," said Starscream. "Actually, we are here to locate a particular bot. Can you tell us where we can find Scalpel?"

They were met by gasps from everyone assembled and a halt in all activities. Grimacing, the bot replied, "I'm sorry, did you say 'Scalpel'?"

"Yes! Do you have a problem with your audio receptors? That is precisely what I said."

"I see," said the medical bot, frowning. "We don't usually receive inquiries about…him."

Knockout bent over to Starscream and whispered: "Told you!"

Starscream waved Knockout away. Turning to the medical bot, he said, "Regardless. Do you know where we can find him?"

"Yes, of course. His…laboratory…is at the edge of the city," pointing them in that direction. And all eyes followed the Decepticons as they headed down the path.

"Well! That was rather…awkward," said Starscream.

"You ready to believe me now?"

"Oh, fine."

They arrived at a rather run-down structure. Several dumpsters lined the road on the outside, with various mechanical and organic body parts spilling out. Some kind of flying parasites hovered near the organic dumpsters, which apparently hadn't been emptied for a long time. Had the Decepticons possessed olfactory sensors the scent could have been overpowering. Dried organic fluids of various colors and viscosity were splattered on the exterior walls and grounds.

"Quaint!" quipped Knockout, surveying the scene.

They knocked on the door. No answer. Knocked again. Starscream called out "Scalpel? Are you there?" Still nothing.

"Oh well! No one's home! Let's go!" said Knockout nervously, and started walking away.

The door opened. "Ya? Who iss calling?" Starscream looked down. A tiny Decepticon, with six spider-like legs, huge optics behind round spectacles, and little servos on spindly arms looked up at him.

"Er, yes, Scalpel, I am Starscream, and this…" he looked side to side, but Knockout was not there. Looking back, he found him several paces behind. "…that…is Knockout. We are here on a mission from Megatron."

"Oooh, ya, Megatron? Come come! Come inside! Let us talk!" And Scalpel scampered back in. Starscream followed him, then turned and motioned for Knockout. "Will you come on!" Whimpering, Knockout got behind Starscream.

The shelves of Scalpel's lab were filled with jars of past experiments, mostly horrific failures. Monstrous organic/robotic combinations, with various unmatched appendages, eyes and/or optics looked out from enormous glass containers. Starscream and Knockout looked at these with increasing degrees of revulsion.

Past the hallway was Scalpel's work area, with a large operating table. He pushed the latest experiment off to the side. "Don't mind him, he's probably not going to work out anyway, yes? Now, sit, sit! Vat do you haff in mind?"

"Scalpel, Megatron has asked us to see if you would be interested in coming to the Nemesis to help Shockwave with a special project," said Starscream.

"Ooh, Shockwave! Good, good scientist! Vat iss he building?"

"Megatron wants him to build a Technorganic clone of a particular Autobot, and…"

"Technorganic?! Autobot? Organic? Wonderful! Ya?"

"Er, yes, but you see…" And Scalpel had started slowly creeping towards Knockout. Pointing to him, he asked, "Technorganic, look like him, maybe? Need sample!" Knockout screamed like a little girl and yelled "No! No! Look not like me!" and stood up, frightened.

"Oh, sit back down, Knockout!" Yelled Starscream. Shaking, he approached the table and sat back down.

"You are one very nervous bot!" observed Scalpel, looking at Knockout. "I can fix!"

"Oh, no! Thank you!" he replied.

"No, Scalpel, not like Knockout at all. This Technorganic is half Autobot, half human. One big difficulty is, she possesses an enormous weaponry array."

Scalpel scoffed. "Oh, weaponry, no problem! I haff put many, many weapons into my experiments! You vant to see? Let me show you!" And climbing up onto one of the shelves, he started opening up a jar.

"Uh, no! No, that's quite alright, thank you!" Replied Starscream. "So, you have an…opening in your…busy schedule?"

Scalpel scampered back down onto the operating table. "Oh! Ya ya! No problem! Let's go!"

* * *

The Autobot auditorium on Gorlam Prime was filled. Rodimus Major was at the podium, and behind him were Optimus Prime, Jazz, and Sari. Several of the Autobots stared at the stage. "Is that who I think it is? Optimus? Yes, it is him!" they said to one another.

"May I have your attention, please," began Rodimus. "Jazz and I called everyone here for a history-making announcement. I'm sure you all recognize the bot standing to my right. Optimus Prime has come here to tell us that our home planet, Cybertron, is alive again!"

Gasps of excitement came from everyone! "Cybertron is alive? How is that possible? Could it be true? It must be true if Optimus is here!"

"Please, settle down, everyone," continued Rodimus. "Let me turn the podium over to Optimus, and he can explain how this came to be." Rodimus stepped aside and Optimus came forward.

"My fellow Autobots, I come before you to announce that it is true. Thanks to the efforts of a brave cadre of soldiers, the Omega Lock was found and activated; Primus has been reawakened, and Cybertron is alive once again."

"This is wonderful!" came some responses. All were in amazement at the news.

"Can I answer any questions?" asked Optimus.

One bot raised his servo. "Optimus, what about the Decepticons? Surely they will come and attack Cybertron. What defenses are in place?"

"At this time, we have re-enabled the long-range scanners, and Autobot Bumblebee is botting them to watch for signs of Decepticon approaches. But your question leads precisely to the reason for my visit. There are only four of us on Cybertron right now; we need your help. Rodimus told me that Gorlam Prime has platoons of soldiers. If some can join us immediately, we can better defend our home world."

"Also to that end, I would like to introduce you to one of my soldiers," said Optimus. "She is a Technorganic Cyber-Ninja, with an impressive array of powerful weapons. Although small, she has battled against many Decepticons, and has been an invaluable member of my team." He motioned toward her. "Sari, please come forward." She joined Optimus and stood by his side.

The audience looked curiously at this diminutive Autobot. "A Micromaster?" one asked.

"Sari, why don't you tell them about yourself," suggested Optimus, and she began to explain to them about Technorganics. She turned to Rodimus. "What is the composition of the atmosphere on this planet?"

"21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, the rest trace amounts of other gases," he explained. "The natives of this planet were originally organic."

"Then my human side can breathe," and with a blue flash, Sari transformed. "This is my alt mode," she explained. "One half Cybertronian, one half human."

"You…do resemble the figures found in the ancient Micromaster pictures," said one of the Autobot archivists.

"As a sparkling protoform, I absorbed the DNA from a human of the planet Earth," said Sari. "That is how I came to acquire this alt form."

"Can you transform into anything else?" asked another Autobot.

"No, just between 'human' and 'bot'."

"I asked Sari to accompany me as a way of assisting in the transition from Gorlam Prime," said Rodimus. "Autobots have lived and worked side by side with the native population for millennia. Being that her appearance more closely resembles theirs, it is hoped she can act as an Autobot ambassador to the Micromasters."

* * *

Rodimus, Optimus and Sari went to go meet with the leader of the Micromasters.

"Your planet is alive again?"

"Yes, Desire. Optimus Prime is here to ask that a team journey back to Cybertron immediately to assist in its rebuilding, and to help defend it from the Decepticons," said Rodimus." And accompanying Optimus is a Technorganic member of his crew. Please let me introduce Sari."

"Very glad to meet you, Desire," said Sari, offering her servo.

"The pleasure is mine, Sari. I see Autobots come in different sizes," he smiled. "I am the Mayor of Zone City. If you like, I can give you a tour."

"Thank you, I would enjoy that very much!" And they left for the Micromaster's capital. Desire transformed into his alt mode and Sari flew behind.

They arrived, and Sari powered down the plasma boosters on her pedes and servos. Desire transformed back into his bipedal mode. "Your city is beautiful, Mayor!" she exclaimed. Her optics gazed at the crisscrossed, tree-lined boulevards, tall sleek crystal covered skyscrapers, and walkways connecting the buildings.

They took an elevator up to the top floor of one of the crystal buildings, where they entered the municipal offices. "Sari, I'd like you to meet the Deputy Major, Windy. Windy, this is Autobot Sari from the planet Cybertron."

"Pleased to meet you Windy," said Sari.

"An Autobot?" Windy was puzzled.

"Strange, I can imagine," smiled Sari. "But Autobots come in different sizes. I'm a different type of Autobot, known as a Technorganic."

She got up from her desk and shook Sari's servo. "Nice to meet you, Sari," Windy replied.

* * *

Sari had a very pleasant visit in Zone City, and spent the time explaining to the Micromasters that she met how the Autobots needed to return to Cybertron to help rebuild it and come to its defense.

"Thank you for the tour, Desire! It was an honor to meet your citizenry. Once we have been able to restore Cybertron, I hope our worlds can establish cooperative bonds and create a federation."

"That would be my wish as well, Sari."

"Let me head back to the Autobot colony. They may need me to assist with the transition." And bidding farewell to Mayor Desire, she journeyed back.

Arriving at the Autobot colony, Sari was invited to join a planning session, where they were discussing the space bridge transfer of 50 bots to Cybertron. Present at the meeting was a black and white bot. Rodimus introduced him.

"Sari, I'd like you to meet my military strategist, Prowl."

A no-nonsense bot, Prowl got up to offer his servo. "Sari."

She was momentarily struck speechless! A bot with the same name as her departed first Ninja teacher? She blinked her optics, but managed to quickly recover. "Prowl – very good to meet you. Forgive my momentary lapse. There is – or rather, was – an Autobot in my dimension with the same name. He was very dear to me. He sacrificed his Spark to save millions of humans and many bots from a Decepticon weapon of mass destruction. He died with great honor."

Prowl bowed his head. "In that case, it is my great honor to share his name, Sari."

"Thank you for helping Optimus in this mission," she replied.

"Let us begin our efforts," said Optimus.

**So both missions, Autobot and Decepticon, have succeeded in their objectives. In the next chapter, we will continue their work, honorable and dishonorable, to both ends. I already have things in the works for what Shockwave and Scalpel will come up with. (LuisJM's already had a preview, and offered up some cool ideas ;-)**

**Thanks to Searece for the review and the suggestion to introduce Jazz and Prowl! We'll definitely use them as the story proceeds – let's see what happens when Jazz meets Jazz! **

**Please review and let me know if you have any other G1 characters you might like to see! Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The task to bring Autobots back to Cybertron has begun! Optimus' broadcast message has gone out, and responses have come in. Optimus, Rodimus and Sari prepare to leave Gorlam Prime.**

Bulkhead was botting the console on Moon Base Two. A message came in from Gorlam Prime. "Bulkhead, Optimus here. Please let Arcee know there are three to bridge back: Rodimus, Sari, and myself."

"Roger, Optimus." And he passed the word back to Arcee on Cybertron.

"Oh, Optimus, I have a message for Sari. As soon as she returns, she is to return to Earth. Agent Fowler needs to see her."

"Uh oh. I've been wondering when he'd want to talk to me," Sari said, overhearing Bulkhead's transmission.

Arcee opened up the bridge, and the three came out. "Welcome back," she said.

"Heard from Bulkhead, Sari, Agent Fowler's been looking for you. I'll ready the space bridge. But! Before I do, I think there's someone you'd like to meet."

Arcee turned to Optimus. "Since you've been gone, we've received multiple responses to your broadcast message. The first one to get here shortly after you left is waiting for you outside," she smiled.

Optimus could tell from her smile that he'd be pleased. He turned to Rodimus and Sari. "Let's go check on our arrival," and they turned to leave the space bridge nexus. He was not disappointed!

The giant bot turned to them as soon as they came out. "Optimus Prime! It's been a while," he said. Sari looked up, optics big as saucers. Her femme Spark quickened; this was definitely a warrior-class bot! Huge chest. Strong legs. Mighty arms supporting impressive weaponry. Big. Powerful. Weaponry. "Whoa!" she thought.

"Ironhide! It's good to see you, old friend," said Optimus, reaching to shake servos.

"Got your message, and had a good chat with my old Wrecker buddy up there on Moon Base Two, then Arcee bridged me in. Gotta say, you guys did one heck of a job here."

He turned to the Gorlam Prime leader. "Rodimus! How's it goin'!"

"Good, Ironhide!" He smiled, shaking servos. "And please let me introduce you to a member of Optimus Prime's team, who by the way all by herself, managed to rearrange Starscream's face," he smiled. "Ironhide, this is our Cyber-Ninja, Sari."

"Pleased to meet you, Ironhide," said Sari, smiling broadly.

Ironhide looked down. "Rearranged Starscream's face, eh?" He let out a hearty laugh. "Not bad, little miss! You got some power to your punch!"

"More than meets the eye, Ironhide," smiled Optimus. "Don't let her size fool you. Sari is a very powerful Cyber-Ninja who also knocked over Megatron and sliced off his arm."

"Really? Well good on ya, Sari!" He started to lower his servo. "Here, jump on, and let me get a better look at you."

"She can do better than that. Sari? Why don't you let him have a closer look?" And Sari powered up her plasma boosters and flew up to Ironhide's helm.

He chuckled. "Well! A flyer too, eh? That definitely comes in handy battling the Cons!"

Arcee came outside. "Uh, Sari? Agent Fowler?"

"Ooops! Sorry, gotta go." And she flew back in to the space bridge nexus with Arcee.

"So, Optimus, what's the plan? It's gonna take a lot of bots to bring Cybertron back, not to mention defend it," said Ironhide.

"We've got 50 bots coming in from Gorlam Prime," said Rodimus. "Jazz and Prowl will be helping to get things organized."

"Good start! And I heard from another bud of mine, Optimus! Arcee oughta be bridging him in soon."

* * *

"Ratchet, Sari is returning from Gorlam Prime. As soon as she arrives on Cybertron, I'll bridge her back to Earth."

"Very good, Arcee. I'll let Agent Fowler know." And Ratchet got on his comm to Fowler.

"Agent Fowler, Sari will be returning to Earth. Did you want to meet her here?"

"About damn time! Yes I want to meet her there! What's her ETA?"

"E…TA?"

"When's she due in?"

"I would assume within the hour."

"Then, I'm on my way."

* * *

The space bridge at Outpost Omega One opened up and Sari flew in. Agent Fowler was standing at the entrance. She landed in front of him.

"Well, now that you have finally graced us with your presence, would you care to give me your side of the story about what in the name of Paul Revere's horse went on at Memorial High School?"

Sari sighed. "Of course, Agent Fowler. And I am deeply sorry for blowing my cover. But it was a decision I did not make lightly, and I am here to tell you I would do it again! Jack, Miko and Raf were in great danger from the Decepticons, and I had to intervene to protect them."

"So I understand," he replied.

"I was working in the library, and my Spark sensed great danger. I tried to get the kids to come to the library and remain with me, but for whatever reason, they did not. The second I was able to leave my post, I ran to the main exit. Just as I got near the door, I saw a space bridge forming right in front of the kids. I knew it was the Decepticons."

"You knew? How?"

"My Cyber-Ninja sense can detect friend or foe."

Fowler raised an eyebrow, but betrayed a slight smile. "And what about me?"

Sari chuckled. "You're a friend, Agent Fowler."

"Fair enough. You will be happy to know that Unit:E has stepped in and managed this incident," he said. "Here is your cover: while you were an employee of Unit:E, you were issued a special exo-suit, to be used only in the most dire of circumstances."

"So, I didn't blow my cover and expose myself as an Autobot?"

"Oh, no! You think the general populace is ready to know about Autobots? No. We told the people who saw you transform that you were actually enabling this exo-suit. That was the blue flash they saw."

"What about Starscream and the Decepticons?"

"Fortunately, not too many people actually saw them, since according to the kids, you took care of them quickly, and the Decepticons had retrieved the ones you took out."

"We managed to convince them it was an Al Qaeda attack."

"A terrorist attack? In Jasper?"

"You'd be surprised what you can convince people of when you throw local pride into the mix."

"Anyway, as for your sudden disappearance, I explained that you had to be brought back to Unit:E for debriefing."

"Oh, by the way. The Mayor of Jasper is giving you a commendation for rescuing Jack, Miko and Raf. I have to bring you to his office, where the local press will interview you and take pictures. Dress nice."

Sari was relieved! Unfortunately, Fowler wasn't done.

"That's the good news. The bad news is, General Bryce is furious. He's expecting me to bring you to a meeting, where you will explain all this to him yourself."

"Come with me. And transform. We're driving to his office." Sari transformed into "human" mode and got into Fowler's car.

* * *

"So you are the Autobot from another dimension?"

"Yes, General."

Bryce looked as his folder. "'Sari Sumdac'. Forgive me, but you don't look like a robot to me."

"I am a Technorganic. I am half human. Agent Fowler told me to come to you in my human form."

"And what is your robot form?"

A blue flash, and Sari transformed into "bot" mode. Bryce's eyes opened wide. "I, I see. Can you still talk to me, like that?"

"Yes, General. In 'bot' mode, I can communicate using my voice box," replied Sari, in her more electronic-sounding voice.

"Good. Now, in Agent Fowler's report, he interviewed the three teenagers, Jackson Darby, Miko Nakadai, and Rafael Esquivel, as well as others who witnessed this incident. Can you tell me, in your own words, what happened?"

"I was in 'human' mode, working in the high school library. The Autobots were on high alert, anticipating a move by the Decepticons to journey to the planet Cybertron to use special keys, called Omega Keys, to bring the dead planet back to life."

"Let, let me stop you right there." He turns to some other pages in his folder. "This planet, Cybertron. It is the home world of the Autobots and also the Decepticons?"

"Yes, it is our home world."

"Wait! What you just said – 'our home world'? I thought you were half human!"

"I am also half Cybertronian, General. And a citizen of Cybertron – as well as a soldier who has taken an oath to defend the same."

"So, where do your loyalties lie?"

"My loyalties lie with both, of course! How can they not? I may be a citizen and a soldier of Cybertron, but I have a foot – and a pede – in both worlds. I deeply care and pledge my life and sacred honor to defend both worlds."

"When I was first brought to Earth, I was touched by a human and absorbed his DNA. That is how I became half human. I consider that man my father. He raised me as his daughter. I love him dearly, as he loves me. I grew up thinking I was a fully human girl until I was eight years old, when my Cybertronian half was first revealed to me."

"So, I may be a citizen of Cybertron, but I was 'born' – in a way – and raised in Detroit, Michigan."

"Why didn't you become a United States citizen?"

"I had no birth certificate, no proof of identity. I had appeared one day in my father's lab as what is called a 'sparkling protoform'. How I got there is still a mystery. I hope someday to find that out."

"When the Autobots offered me Cybertronian citizenship, I accepted."

"Something still confuses me," said Bryce. "You speak of 'Detroit', yet, Agent Fowler says you are from another dimension?"

"I came here by accident," explained Sari. "There was a space bridge malfunction in my dimension, and I was pulled down into the ground bridge in this one. I am from a parallel dimension, where there is another Earth, another Detroit, another Cybertron."

"Is there another General Bryce?"

Sari's optics looked up to the left as she thought. "Not that I am aware. However, there are certain Autobots in my dimension who have the same names as Autobots here. For example, in my dimension, there is an Optimus Prime. He is my Commanding Officer."

"Ah yes, you said you are a soldier. You fight Decepticons?"

"I do. And it is my sworn duty as a Cybertronian soldier to protect and defend innocent life. That was what I was doing that day at Memorial High School."

"You caused quite a commotion doing so, and it was an enormous expense for Unit:E to cover up your intervention. Luckily, we were able to provide a satisfactory story to convince the public that it was not some kind of alien invasion."

"As I said to Agent Fowler, I deeply regret blowing my cover, but my decision to transform in front of the public was not a decision I took lightly. My only motivation was to protect the three who were in immediate and grave danger from the Decepticons."

"You knew they were in danger? How?"

"I am a Cyber-Ninja gakusei. I possess enhanced abilities, one of which is the ability to sense danger."

"Spidey sense?" quipped Fowler.

Bryce groaned and rolled his eyes. Sari smiled. "Something like that."

"So you drove away the Decepticons. But then you disappeared. Agent Fowler went to the Autobot base looking for you. Where were you?"

"The Autobots brought Cybertron back to life. They asked me to come and help them. I'm sorry I was away while Agent Fowler was looking for me, I wasn't trying to hide."

Satisfied, Bryce closed his folder and tapped the edge on his desk. "Fair enough. That's all I have regarding that incident. One other question, Sari."

"Yes, General?"

"Why are the Autobots here?"

To answer, Sari transformed back into "human" mode. "To protect us from the Decepticons."

* * *

"Doctor! So good to see you!"

"So happy to be here, Megatron! Good project, ya? Clone Technorganic? When can we start?"

"As soon as possible! Starscream, please show Scalpel to Shockwave's laboratory."

Starscream led the diminutive Decepticon down to Shockwave's work area, where he was building a device with Soundwave. As they entered, the two turned to see Shockwave's new assistant.

"Doctor, it is good to have you here," said Shockwave. "We have the illustrations for the Technorganic on the overhead displays." Everyone looked at the three-dimensional monitors to see a depiction of Sari. One side depicted her "human" mode, and the other her "bot" mode. Another scrolled a list of her known mods and capabilities, which Soundwave had cataloged with the assistance of Laserbeak, who had been spying on her various encounters with the Decepticons.

Shockwave stepped back to show Starscream and Scalpel what he and Soundwave had been working on. "In order to build the clone, we will need a sample of the subject's CNA and DNA."

"Ya Ya! Once we have those, I can help you create the clone!" said Scalpel excitedly.

"I have built this metallic insect to collect both," said Shockwave.

"Hmm. Will it penetrate her armor?" asked Starscream.

"That will not be necessary," answered Shockwave. "Logic dictates that the simplest method would be through the Technorganic's human skull." And typing some keys on his console, he brought up an animated illustration which showed a cross-section of Sari's human head. It showed her skull encasing her Cybertronian processor. Then the animation showed the metallic insect landing on the part between her hair, where it will inject a needle. "The insect will land on her head, and the probe will go deep enough to collect CNA from her processor, then while retracting the probe, collect skin cells and blood from the human tissue for the DNA. It will then return to the Nemesis."

"And what if she swats at the insect?" Asked Scalpel.

"I built the insect to be silent, and very rapid in the execution of its task. By the time her hand reaches the top of her head, the insect will have flown away."

"Laserbeak will carry the insect to where the Technorganic is located. He will guide it until the mission is complete."

"Will collecting the samples be painful?" asked Starscream, with an evil grin.

"The Technorganic will experience pain, and temporary vertigo after the encounter."

"Good, good!"

"Excellent, Shockwave! Let us begin!" Yelled an excited Scalpel.

* * *

It was a beautiful spring Saturday, and June, Sari, and the kids were enjoying an outing in the park.

"So, how was the visit to the Mayor's office? Did you get the keys to the city?" Asked Miko.

Sari laughed. "No, but I did get a nice plaque and some gift certificates."

"I saw your picture in the paper," said June, "you looked very nice. And I think I'll get Agent Fowler some longer ties." Everyone laughed.

"The Mayor was very nice! He...OW!" Sari slapped the top of her head!

"What's wrong?" Asked Raf.

"Something just stung me!" She pulled her hand back; there was blood on her fingers!

"Sari, let me take a look," said June, and examined the spot. "You're bleeding!" She quickly opened a sterile pad from her nurse's bag and held it against the wound.

"Ooh, I feel dizzy!" Sari said.

"Lay down. We've got to get you to an Emergency Room."

"Uh, Mom? That's not a good idea," said Jack. He got on his phone. "Ratchet? This is Jack. Sari's been injured. She needs a ground bridge, stat."

* * *

"Well Sari, whatever that was, it punctured your human skin and skull bone and made it as far as your Cybertronian processor," said Ratchet.

"Did it infect her?" Asked June.

"Nothing Cybertronian," he replied. "As for human infections, I'll defer to your expertise."

"Well, she does have a hole in her skull which must be..."

"Not anymore," said the old bot.

"What?" Said June.

"Here, see for yourself." And he pulled up an X-ray when Sari first came in. "Look now," showing her the current X-ray. The hole was gone!

June was stunned. "How…how is that possible?" Everyone looked at Sari

"Uh, I heal quickly," she replied. "That time when I was eight and the explosion blew away the skin from my elbow? It grew back in a day or so."

June turned to her Autobot counterpart. "Ratchet?"

"I know practically nothing about human medicine. It must be her Cybertronian half accelerating the healing process."

"How do you feel, Sari?" asked June.

"Much better now, June, thanks."

"So, what was it that attacked her?" asked Raf.

"No Earth insect that I'm aware of could have penetrated her head that far," said June.

"Or gotten away that fast," said Jack. "We never saw it coming, or leaving."

"Which leads me to believe it came from MECH, or the Decepticons," said Ratchet.

"So? What the heck was it doing, sticking a needle into Sari's head?" asked Miko.

All were silent, pondering that question, until Raf offered up: "Getting a piece of Sari?"

* * *

"Lord Megatron, we have the CNA and DNA samples from the Technorganic. Scalpel and I can begin working on the cloning process," said Shockwave.

"Excellent! Please keep me apprised of your progress. I shall be most interested in your results."

**Shockwave and Scalpel begin to work on a Decepticon Sari clone! What will be the results? We shall see!**

**Thanks for your suggestions on Autobots! I will introduce them as the story progresses. Ironhide's got a really good bot on the way!**

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**As you know, Raf's been working on re-calibrating the space bridge settings since the prior experiment's failure. He believes he's got it right this time, and everyone's been called back to Outpost Omega One to see how this test goes.**

"Alright everyone, we're ready for another test," said Ratchet. All stood by his console, and even Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead had returned from Cybertron to witness.

"Ready at this end, Ratchet," said Isaac. He had a fire extinguisher at the ready, just in case. "Powering up the space bridge."

Ratchet began powering up the bridge at Outpost Omega One. "Rafael, get ready." Everyone stood by anxiously, not the least of whom was Sari. June put a hand on her shoulder.

Raf double-checked the settings on his laptop, and walked over to the bridge tunnel.

Holding tightly on to the little RF car, he shut his eyes. "Please, please work!" he said to himself. He put the car down and grabbed his controller. "Ready, Ratchet."

Blue, green, and yellow rings started shimmering in the tunnel. This time, very little smoke came out.

"Go!" said Ratchet, and Raf pushed the joystick forward. The car sped into the tunnel.

Tense seconds passed. "Hold on!" said Isaac. "I'm detecting something. Let me set the controls to pull it in. Coming…and…"

The whirring sounds of an RF car came through the speaker. "Yes! Yes! It's here! I put a cushion on the floor for it to land."

"Any distortion or fire?" asked Ratchet.

"No, nothing," said Isaac. "It looks like Rafael's calibrations worked!"

"Yes! Yes! YES!" yelled Raf, jumping up and down and pumping his fist!

Raucous cheers erupted! Sari started crying tears of joy and covered her mouth with her hands!

June tearfully hugged Sari. "Oh Sari! I'm so happy for you!"

"Way to go, Raf!" yelled Miko.

"Excellent job, Rafael," said Optimus.

"Now, for the reverse experiment. Let me send it back, and Rafael, I want you to examine the car to make sure it is truly unchanged," said Isaac. To facilitate the reverse trip, Bulkhead had built a platform high up so the car could speed into the space bridge orb on their side. Isaac climbed the stairs, set the car down and took out an RF controller. Bulkhead botted the space bridge controls.

"Ready at this end, Professor," said Ratchet, and the two bridges were powered up. Isaac pushed the joy stick at his end and the little car zoomed off the ramp and sped into the orb.

Raf studied his laptop. "Here it comes – pulling it down." And seconds later, everyone heard the sound of a little toy car speeding out of the tunnel.

"Whoa!" called out Smokescreen, who jumped to scoop up the car before it crashed into something. He gave it to Raf, who examined it. He looked it over carefully. "Looks good to me, Professor!"

"I think we have a successful test, gentlemen," said Isaac.

"Oh Dad, I can't wait to see you!" said Sari.

"Same here, my dear!"

There was a slight pause as everyone began to realize what this meant. Finally, Miko spoke up.

"Are we actually ready to do this for real?" asked Miko.

"It…looks that way," responded Ratchet.

"Then, I guess this means goodbye?" said Jack, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I, I guess so, Jack," said Sari, wiping her tears away. "I mean, I've been here so long, and have made so many friends." She looked around at everyone. "But," pointing to the bridge tunnel, "that way leads home."

"Sari, you need to be home, with your Dad," said June.

"June is right," said Optimus. "Sari, as much as we have valued your contributions to Team Prime, you belong with the Optimus and the team in your dimension."

"We'll miss you, Sari," said Arcee. "But your world needs you."

"Well, she can come back to visit, right? I mean, it's not like once she leaves she's stuck there permanently," said Miko.

"Visit? I'd like that," said Sari.

"I think though, it's time we return," said Jazz. "Our responsibilities lie with our world, notwithstanding how much we have been able to contribute here."

"I agree with Jazz," said Optimus. "With our Cybertron alive again, we Autobots have made great strides. I think the time is right to restore balance between our worlds." He offered his servo to both of his now-former team members. "Sari, Jazz, it has been my honor to have had you both part of Team Prime."

Jazz shook his servo. "The honor has been mine, Optimus."

"Sari transformed and shook servos. "As has been mine, sir." She then turned to say goodbye to the Autobots.

"Goodbye, Sari. Thanks for the sparring lessons," smiled Arcee.

"Bye Sari! You take care," said Smokescreen.

**(Oh Sari! I'll miss you. It's been great having you on Team Prime!)** said Bumblebee.

"Farewell, Sari," said Ratchet. "Glad to have been able to lend a servo when you were injured."

"You keep fighting those Cons, Sari! You'd qualify for a Wrecker any day!" said Wheeljack.

"Hey, Sari, you be sure to let your Bulkhead know that this one enjoyed workin' with ya, OK?" said the big green bot.

Jazz also bid farewell to everyone. Sari transformed back into "human" mode to say goodbye to her other friends.

She hugged Jack and June. "Thanks for letting me stay at your house, you guys."

"Our pleasure, Sari!" said June. "You are welcome back anytime!"

"Bye, Sari," said Jack. "I'm glad to have had the chance to work with you."

"Bye, Sari!" said Miko. "I really enjoyed our mission – even though I hated that uniform!" she smiled.

Sari gave a big hug to Raf. "Oh Raf, thank so much for your hard work getting the bridge configured!"

Raf fought back tears. "My pleasure, Sari! Hope to see you again!"

"Sari? You ready?" asked Jazz.

"Ready, Sensei," and she transformed back into "bot" mode. They turned to salute Optimus, who saluted back. "Good luck, you two," he said.

Jazz transformed into his "cool" alt mode car, and she powered up the plasma jets on her pedes and servos.

"Jazz and Sari are ready when you are, Professor," said Ratchet. Raf went to his laptop.

"All ready at this end," said Isaac.

The bridge at Outpost Omega One glowed with yellow, blue and green rings. Jazz and Sari took off and sped into it.

The orb on top of Sumdac Tower glowed blue and yellow. Bulkhead and Isaac were at the controls. "Here they come, Professor!" yelled the big green bot. Out of the orb came a sports car which immediately transformed, and a small flying bot. Both landed on the deck of the tower.

"Professor, did they arrive?" came Ratchet's voice out of Isaac's comm device.

"They're here, Ratchet!" said Sari's Bulkhead.

Back at Outpost Omega One, everyone was listening intently to the comm speaker. They heard Bulkhead say they had arrived, and then heard Sari yell "Daddy!"

June covered her mouth with both hands. "You're home!"

* * *

Sari ran to her father, "Oh, Daddy! I thought I'd never see you again!" The two hugged.

"Oh, my beautiful daughter, how long I have waited to see you!"

"Sari!" yelled Bulkhead, running to her from the space bridge controls. "You're back!" The floor of Sumdac Tower shook.

"Bulky!" she said, flying up to his helm, planting a kiss, "I'm so happy to see you too!"

"Aw!" he smiled. "Sari! We worked so hard! I took that space bridge on Mars apart piece by piece, tryin' to find out where you went! And Jazz!" He pointed to Jazz, "Jazz figured out with his Cyber-Ninja stuff that you'd gone somewhere. Then your Dad, he thought of a piece of the space bridge that might tell us where ya went, and Sentinel Prime, he almost wiped it out! But another bot kept him away long enough for me to grab the data. It let us find you!"

"Oh, thank you, Bulky, for working so hard to find out where I went!"

"Anyway, Optimus said for me to tell ya he wants you and Jazz to meet with him for a welcome back party, and a briefing."

"Of course, Bulkhead," said Jazz, "but first, I think Sari's due for a little reunion with her father. Why don't you and I head back to Autobot Central and help get things ready?"

"Oh! Oh yeah. Good idea!"

"Sari, just let us know when you're ready to come over," said Jazz. And the two bots took the freight elevator down to the street. Sari transformed into "human" mode and took the private elevator down to the Sumdac residence.

"So, my dear," said Isaac, "some Chai tea?"

"Oh, Dad, that would be so nice!"

* * *

Afterwards, Sari stepped into her room at Sumdac Tower. A little robot dog greeted her with happy doggy sounds.

"Sparky!" she yelled. He ran up to her, and she picked him up. His little tail wagged joyfully. "I missed you, boy!" She plopped down on her bed and looked around her room. "You know, Sparky, there were times when I didn't think I'd ever be back here. I mean, I really enjoyed my friends over there, but I missed you, my Dad, the bots here…it's good to be back!"

There was a knock on her door. "Sari? May I come in?"

She ran to open it. "Of course, Dad! Please, come on in!"

"Oh, my Sari, it is so good to have you back! I can't tell you how hard it was on all of us, not knowing whether you were gone for good."

"For me too, Dad. Thank you for working so hard to get the space bridge working so I can do a round trip." She kissed him on the cheek.

"So…Burger Bot?"

"Sounds good! But first, I've got that reception over at Autobot Central, and then a briefing with Optimus. When I get back we can go, and…Oh! You know what? My scooter's still in the other world. How can I get there?"

"Just fly over."

"Fly?! But I can't let people see…oh!" she stopped, and remembered she was no longer in the "Transformers: Prime" world, where Autobots are hidden from the public!

* * *

"Doctor, I am anxious to see the results of your work! Have you and Shockwave completed your cloning operation?"

"Ya! Ya, Megatron! She is complete! Come, we will show you!" Scalpel eagerly scampered into the lab, where Shockwave was inputting the finishing touches and bringing the clone's Spark to life. The subject was still lying under a cloth on the operating table. Shockwave turned as Megatron entered the room.

"Lord Megatron. Scalpel and I have successfully implanted both the human DNA and the CNA into the subject. Spark implantation and processor download is complete. Subject has the same capabilities as the Autobot Sari, as well as some additional capabilities."

"Ya, ya! I have found some new abilities! Some of my own creations!"

"Excellent," replied Megatron. "How soon before she awakens?"

"The awakening will take place...now!" said Shockwave. And he removed the cloth. The Technorganic awakened. She sat up and jumped off the table. Her red optics looked up to her master. She genuflected to him and bowed her helm.

"Lord Megatron. I am your humble servant."

"Arise, my child. What shall I call you?"

The Technorganic Decepticon stood before him. She was a near-perfect clone of Sari, from her triangular-shaped appendages on top of her helm to the circular glowing Spark cover on her chest. Whereas Sari's armor was yellow and cream colored, hers was dark purple and gray, more befitting that of a Decepticon. The digits on her servos were razor-sharp. The joints on her shoulders were spiked, as were the ones on her knees. Her red optics glowed with eager anticipation, waiting for the first command from her Lord and master. "I am Kālī, my Lord."

Megatron grinned. "An interesting name, Kālī. Why do you choose it?"

"It was given to me by Shockwave, my Liege," she responded. Megatron turned to him.

"One of the prime characteristics of the Technorganic Sari is an Earth faith close to her Spark, known as Hinduism," explained Shockwave. "We chose a name which would be known to her and which she would find disturbing."

Megatron was intrigued. "Really? Tell me more."

"Kālī is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment. The name Kālī comes from the Hindi word kāla, which means black, time, death. Kālī is the consort of Shiva, the lord of death."

Megatron smiled. "I like it! Welcome, Kālī. I am very pleased to have you with us. With you on our team, we shall win great victories for the Decepticon cause."

He turned to his two scientists. "Tell me about Kālī's capabilities. You said she possesses skills beyond that of the Autobot Sari?"

Shockwave turned to Scalpel, who scampered up onto the operating table. "Ya! Ya! For example, the Autobot merely has the ability to transform into her puny single human form. But Kālī, she can transform into any organic being!"

Megatron was very pleased! "Is that so? Perhaps a demonstration?" And all optics turned to Kālī. In a red flash, she transformed into the image of Jack Darby!

Shockwave spoke up. "We were able to scan the various humans with which the Autobot had come in contact, and stored them into her processor." Next, Kālī transformed in a red flash into Raf, then again into Agent Fowler.

"And all she needs to do is scan other organic beings with her T-Cog, and she can then transform into that," said Scalpel.

"Marvelous! This will indeed be of great use in allowing her to spy on the humans," observed Megatron. "What other abilities?"

"Kālī possess a highly powerful sonic pulse blaster, which should take down any Autobot, even the Technorganic Sari," said Shockwave.

"Interesting," replied Megatron. "Does it come from her arm?"

"No, no! That's old school," said Scalpel. "Come, we can give you a demonstration! Do you have some Vehicons? Let us go up top!" And the four went to the top of the Nemesis.

Megatron told Starscream to meet them up top with a dozen Vehicons. "Place them near one end," said Scalpel, "and let Kālī face them."

Starscream lined up his Vehicons in formation, then stood near Megatron. Kālī approached the group, and opened her mouth. An enormous, powerful, sonic blast emitted from it, which blew all of them off the ship!

"Interesting," chuckled Starscream. "I've heard of fembots with big mouths, but nothing like this."

"Any other useful toys?" asked Megatron.

"Kālī, show Lord Megatron your energy scythes," said Scalpel.

"With pleasure, Scalpel," and whereas Sari had energy blades, out of each arm Kālī brought forth glowing, articulated death scythes, each with a sharp spike on the other end. She proceeded to demonstrate their use by a series of Ninja jumps and slashes, accompanied by blood-curdling yells.

"Now, chainsaws, if you please."

"Yes, Scalpel." And she retracted the scythes and her servos were replaced with huge energy chainsaws, with powerful cutting blades capable of slicing through Cybertronian steel like butter.

"Oooh, those will come in handy," commented Starscream, smiling evilly.

"Of course, Kālī has all the mods that Sari has, including the orbs on the palms of her servos, her Skyboom shield, her energy hammer, and the plasma boosters on her pedes and servos which enable her to fly," said Shockwave.

"Yes, quite a list of mods, quite a list," said Scalpel. "Oh! One more you will like, Megatron. Kālī! Your heat vision!"

Kālī's optics suddenly began burning bright red. One of the Vehicons that had been blown off the deck was just coming in for a landing. Scalpel turned to Shockwave. "Target practice?" Starscream nodded, and Kālī shot a pair of red rays at the poor Decepticon, causing it to explode.

"Naturally, the Autobot Sari will oftentimes hold back from using her most deadly mods, for fear of harming the innocent, which in combat is illogical. Kālī has no such reservations," continued Shockwave.

"Truly, a Decepticon warrior who would have been worthy to compete in the Kaon death matches!" observed Megatron. "Doctor, Shockwave, you have outdone yourselves. I am indeed pleased."

He turned to his new Decepticon. "Kālī, I look forward to the day when you can prove your mettle in battle against the Autobots."

Smiling, Kālī retracted her weapons and bowed. "Thank you, master. I shall personally lay before you the head of the hated Technorganic, Sari."

* * *

About a week later, Jack, Miko and Raf were sitting around in Outpost Omega One.

"I can't believe she's gone," said Raf.

"Hey, you gotta figure it was inevitable," said Miko. "I mean, after all, this wasn't her real world."

"Miko's right," said Jack. "Sari's world needed her just as much as we benefited from her abilities and talents. Like Optimus said, they needed to restore balance."

Just then, a signal came in on Ratchet's console. It was from Agent Fowler.

"Yes, Agent Fowler? What can I do for you?"

"I thought you told me that Sari had returned to her dimension!"

"Why yes, she did," replied Ratchet. "About a week ago, why?"

"Then how come I just saw her walking around downtown Jasper?"

**Agent Fowler just spied Sari in Jasper – or did he? I think this story is about to take a very interesting turn! **

**FYI, Kālī's mods were the result of a brainstorming session between myself and LuisJM. Gotta give credit where it's due! :-)**

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Megatron has dispatched Kālī to Jasper to find and kill Sari. Unknown to the Decepticons, however, Sari has returned to her dimension. Kālī's mission is singular, and nothing is going to distract her from her Master's wishes.**

"What?! What do you mean; you saw her walking in Jasper? That's impossible!" said Ratchet.

"I know what I saw," said Agent Fowler, "and she was walking around near the school."

"Well she has not returned through our space bridge, that much I can tell you."

The kids looked at each other. "How…? It can't be!" said Raf.

"Could she have found an alternate way of getting here?" wondered Jack.

"Dude, we've gotta check this out!" said Miko. "Where's Bulkhead?"

"He went back to Cybertron this morning," said Ratchet.

"Bumblebee?" asked Raf.

"Cybertron."

"Let me guess," said Jack. "Arcee?"

"Yep. Won't be back until tonight."

"I'll take you," said Smokescreen. And transforming into his alt mode, the three piled into his sports car. They took off for Jasper.

A message came in on the comm from Cybertron. "Ratchet, Optimus here. One to return. Please open a space bridge." And he enabled the bridge for his Prime to return to Earth. Stepping in to Outpost Omega One, Ratchet greeted him. "Optimus, you're not going to believe this. Agent Fowler just called. He believes he saw Sari walking around Jasper."

"Has she returned from her dimension?"

Ratchet scoffed. "No! Certainly not! Fowler obviously is confused."

"Hmm. He does not make such accusations lightly. It's not like him," said Optimus.

* * *

"Sari? I thought you were back in Washington with Agent Fowler," said Principal Johnson.

"Oh, uh, I needed to come back, to…take care of some things," said Kālī. She had assumed Sari's form while familiarizing herself with the town of Jasper.

"Well, it's good to see you again!"

"Good to see you too!" said Kālī. And as Principal Johnson walked away, she scanned her image and stored it in her T-Cog. As soon as she left, Kālī ducked into an alley and transformed into the image of the Principal.

Smokescreen and the kids entered downtown Jasper. "Hey, look! There's Principal Johnson!" said Jack. "Maybe she saw Sari." Smoke pulled his vehicle over and Jack got out. "Excuse me, Principal, but have you seen Sari? We heard that she was walking around here in Jasper," asked Jack.

"No, uh, Jackson. I can't say I have. Where was she seen?" asked Kālī.

"Agent Fowler saw her walking near Memorial High School. If you see her, can you please let her know we're looking for her?"

"I certainly will. Nice vehicle! Is it yours?"

"Oh, uh, no," he demurred. It, uh, belongs to my uncle. That's him behind the wheel," pointing to the hologram Smoke was presenting. He made the hologram wave.

"Well, goodbye for now. Say hello to your parents for me." And Kālī walked away. Jack got back in the car, slightly confused.

"What did she say?" asked Smoke.

"She didn't see her. But when she left, she said something weird. She told me to say hello to my parents – but she knows I only live with my Mom. That doesn't make sense!"

"She's probably confused," said Miko. "Like, she has to keep track of hundreds of students."

"No, something felt wrong. Let's keep looking." And they drove off.

* * *

Sari stepped in to Autobot Central and was greeted by a huge reception! Across the back of the rec room was a banner, "Welcome Home, Sari!" Every bot cheered!

"Hi, guys!" she called out.

"Sari, we just wanted to give you a proper welcoming back party," said Optimus. "When you fell into that malfunctioning space bridge, we were afraid there'd be a repeat of what happened with the AllSpark – you getting transported to an unknown region of deep space, not to be found for millions of stellar cycles."

"And then when we did find you, it was worse than that," said Jazz. You weren't even in deep space! You were in another dimension. But thanks to Bulkhead here and your father, we found you."

"And thanks to you, Jazz," said Optimus.

"Well, it was an amazing journey for both of us, right, Sari?"

"You said it, Sensei! But in addition to Bulkhead and my Dad, I can't forget the incredible efforts of my friends in the parallel dimension, the Autobots and human companions, and one incredibly gifted young man who refused to give up, finding the right bridge configurations that got me back."

Everyone came up to Sari, anxious to learn more about this alternate universe, Wheeljack in particular. "Sari, I hope your Father will be able to share with me the scientific data he gathered on this transport journey. I would be most interested in analyzing it. In fact, I wouldn't mind making the journey myself."

"I'm sure he'd be glad to share everything with you," she responded. "By the way, there is a Wheeljack in that dimension, but he's nothing like you at all," she smiled. "He's what they call a 'Wrecker', so if you do make the journey, don't be surprised when you meet him."

Wheeljack laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Arcee came up. "Sari, we're so glad to have you back with us. When you were lost, I was so very concerned, as was your father."

"Thanks, Arcee. I had a chance to meet your namesake over there, a Ninja Scout. She is a dedicated Autobot warrior. I think you would like her."

"I'm sure I would!"

Bumblebee came by. "So Sar! Welcome back! Get to play any good video games over there?"

Sari laughed. "One or two, Bee. But I did get to know another Bumblebee. He's a very good Autobot scout. Unfortunately, their Megatron ripped out his voice box, so he can't talk."

"Whaa…? Man! I don't know what I would do if I couldn't talk!"

"You want me to give you my thoughts on that?" quipped Ratchet.

"Hey!"

"Oh, just teasin', Bumblebee!" He smiled at his Technorganic friend. "Sari, glad to have ya back, kiddo."

"Thanks, Ratchet!"

* * *

Jack was working the late shift at the KO Burger. He closed up the restaurant, and just as he was ready to get on Arcee for the ride home, he looked across the street and spotted Raf walking alone.

Running to him, he yelled, "Raf! Hey, Raf!"

Kālī turned. "Oh, hello, Jackson. You're out late; I wasn't expecting anyone."

Jack was taken aback by her response. "Wait. Did you just call me 'Jackson'?"

"Yes. Isn't that your name?"

"Well, of course, but…"

Kālī was growing angry. She stepped closer to him and got in his face. "I'm getting impatient, Jackson. I've been searching for several days. Now I'm going to ask you, and I'm going to expect a straight answer: WHERE IS SHE?"

Jack stepped back, frightened and confused. "Where is she? Who is 'she'? You're not Raf! Who are you?"

Arcee watched Jack run across the street, but from her line of sight, was unable to see where he went. She maneuvered her motorcycle away from the KO Burger to get a better look, just in time to see Raf/Kālī yelling at him.

"Raf? What…? What's he doing…? Why is he yelling at Jack?"

Suddenly, in a red flash, Kālī transformed into "bot" mode. Her red optics glared at him. She pointed at his face. "Tell me, human, or I'll rip you apart with my digits!"

Jack's eyes opened wide. "What?!" He fell backwards, got up and started running away. "Help!"

"Come back here!" yelled Kālī, and ran towards him.

"Oh, no you don't!" said Arcee, and transformed. "Jack! Get behind me!" and arming her weapons, stood before Kālī. "Get away from him, you bitch!"

"An Autobot!" Kālī laughed with glee. "My first kill!" And powered up her orbs. She fired them at Arcee, who dodged every one. Arcee fired her weapons at Kālī, who opened up her skyboom shield, deflecting the shots. "Your weaponry is useless, Autobot!"

Jack ducked behind a car and got on his phone. "Ratchet! Emergency! Arcee and I are under attack from some psycho Decepticon that looks like Sari!"

"What?! He powered up the ground bridge to Jack's location and alerted Optimus, who with Smokescreen transformed and sped into the bridge to assist Arcee and rescue Jack.

Arcee jumped up and attempted to land a Ninja blow on Kālī from above, but Kālī opened her mouth and let out a sonic pulse that threw her hard into a nearby brick wall. "Unnnh! She moaned, falling to the ground. Kālī then used her micron boosters to jump up in the air, and came down on Arcee with her energy scythes deployed. Arcee raised her right arm, attempting to fire off a shot, but Kālī swung around and with one swoop, sliced Arcee's arm off!

"Aaah!" Screamed Arcee in pain. Just then the ground bridge opened up, and out came Optimus and Smokescreen. Surveying the scene, Optimus said "Jack! Get into the bridge! Smokescreen, I will distract the Decepticon; you help Arcee."

"Optimus Prime!" called Kālī. "This is a good day for you to die!" And she ran towards him. He raised his weapon and fired - not at her, but on the wall beside her. It collapsed and fell on top of the Decepticon, burying her under the rubble. This gave the Autobots enough time to get everyone into the bridge, which closed up.

Back at Outpost Omega One, Jack, Optimus and Smokescreen, carrying Arcee and her severed arm, exited the bridge.

"What happened?! Said Ratchet.

"A Decepticon made to look like Sari," said Optimus, as Smoke gave Arcee to Ratchet.

"Not just look like Sari," said Arcee weakly, "she had her abilities, her mods, her moves, her agility."

"Easy," said Ratchet, "let's talk after I get you into sick bay."

"I'm fine!" she protested.

Smokescreen gave Ratchet Arcee's severed arm. Ratchet examined her back. "Your chassis is cracked in the back, I'm holding your arm in my servo - not attached to you, and you're leaking Energon everywhere. You're far from fine." He carried the injured Ninja Scout to sick bay.

Optimus turned to Jack. "Tell me everything that happened."

* * *

Kālī burst out of the rubble just as the ground bridge closed up. She screamed in anger. "I will hunt you down, Autobots! I will find you if I have to tear this town apart!"

She heard sirens. Several police and fire & rescue units were coming. They turned the corner and aimed bright lights at the side of the building. She started walking out of the ruined building and toward the vehicles.

"Who, or what, is that?" Asked a cop, looking at Kālī. He took out his bullhorn. "You there! Hands up! Identify yourself!"

"I am Kālī! And you are dead!" Her optics glowed flaming red against the bright searchlights, and with twin beams, she blew up the squad car.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Yelled the Fire Chief. Other policemen took out shotguns and began firing on her. Their bullets bounced off her armor. She powered up the plasma boosters on her pedes and servos and ascended. From above, she used her red orbs to destroy every police car, fire truck, ambulance, and human.

* * *

Ratchet was tending to Arcee when an alert came in. Agent Fowler was entering the compound. His car came in and getting out, he began yelling. "Prime!"

"Yes, Agent Fowler, what can I do for you?"

"What can you do?! I just got a 911 from Jasper. All Hell is breaking loose! There are reports of a flying robot blowing up buildings and killing people! It's already taken out an entire police precinct and a Fire Station. The governor's declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard!"

"Agent Fowler, we just engaged this Decepticon. She attacked Jack and severely injured Arcee. I have been briefed by Jack, and will talk with Arcee as soon as Ratchet tells me she is able. As far as we can determine, this Decepticon appears to be some kind of clone of Sari."

"Well I'm getting beaten up by General Bryce! He says the media's saying this is some terrorist wearing the same exo-suit that Unit:E gave Sari! Thanks to the cover we gave her, Unit:E's catching the blame for this!"

"Agent Fowler, I understand your dilemma, and I am sorry that Unit:E is getting unfair blame. You know we are more than willing to help you fight this Decepticon, but given the constraints your government has put upon the Autobots, we cannot come out in the open without your superiors' express permission."

"What assurance can I give General Bryce that this is not Sari?"

"That's not Sari!" yelled Jack. "I saw this thing! It's a Decepticon!"

"Agent Fowler, Sari has returned to her dimension," said Optimus. "She is no longer here; to that I will attest. This is not her."

"Fowler!" yelled Arcee, limping toward him, her arm still detached, "I was NOT fighting her. Sari would never have done this!" sticking her stump in his face.

Fowler stepped back. "Fine! So what do you suggest I do?"

Optimus came forward. "You tell General Bryce exactly what we told you: this is not an Autobot; this is not Sari; this is some Decepticon clone of her. And, if as I fear, she is just as powerful as Sari, your Earth forces alone may not be enough to defeat her."

Fowler got back in his car and left. Ratchet came running out of the infirmary. "Arcee! What are you doing out here?! Get back in bed!"

"Ratchet, once you've brought her back to the infirmary, contact June, Miko and Rafael. They need to be brought here to the compound for their own safety. I fear this Decepticon will be looking for them," said Optimus. "Smokescreen, go and pick them up. And once they're here, I want Rodimus contacted on Cybertron. I'm going to need Bulkhead and Bumblebee back here on Earth."

"Optimus," asked Jack, "Arcee once told me that Sari is the most powerful Autobot she's ever known. You yourself said that size is deceiving. Is it possible that the only one who can defeat this Decepticon is Sari herself?"

"That may be, Jack, that may be. We shall see."

**So…** **Kālī is tearing up Jasper! Bryce is on the warpath (literally and figuratively), and the Autobots are doing their best to figure out how to deal with this situation. We'll see how the National Guard – and later conventional forces, make out, and failing that, what success Fowler may have in convincing Bryce to let the Autobots get involved. Considering what we anticipate Earth military's success against Kālī will be, that may come sooner rather than later!**

**Then there is the matter that Jack brought up. Will the Autobots be successful against Kālī, or will they need to get in contact with Sari?**

**Thanks for reading! Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Kālī is wrecking Jasper and about to be engaged by larger forces! On the Nemesis, her activities are being brought to light.**

Back on the Nemesis, Soundwave was monitoring Earth media. Certain "Breaking News" reports suddenly began flooding the airwaves from all over the world, in every known language. He studied these with great interest, and called Starscream over.

"What? What is it?" Starscream inquired, annoyed by the interruption. Soundwave pulled up one news report:

"_Live coverage from Jasper, Nevada. A flying terrorist, wearing some kind of impermeable armor, has begun destroying portions of the downtown area. Governor Thompson has declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard."_

"So? Who cares what the humans do to each other? Some terrorist blowing up a town? Let them have at it!" scoffed Starscream. Soundwave tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed to another broadcast:

"_We've been able to show you footage of this flying being. It appears to possess incredible fire power! Local authorities are getting mowed down in their attempts to stop it!"_

The video showed Kālī, flying with her plasma boosters, laying waste to police cars and killing law enforcement officers.

Starscream's optics opened wide. "Oh? It's her is it? I thought she was supposed to be looking for that Sari character – not blowing up a city! That looks – a little bit extreme."

He stopped, and started pacing. "You know Soundwave, it seems to me, Shockwave's little creation has gotten out of control. Hmmm. This might be a worthwhile opportunity!" He sneered. "I can report this to Megatron, and he can recall this little reject of Scalpel's. Ought to take Shockwave down a peg or two. Oooh, I would enjoy seeing that happen!"

Thinking further, he tapped his index digit on his chin. "Of course, this also has the added benefit of improving my standing with Megatron - provided I play this right and report this immediately."

He turned to Soundwave. "Come with me! We must take this news to our master!" And they headed to the throne room.

They approached Megatron. "My Lord! I'm afraid we have a bit of disturbing news about Shockwave's clone, Kālī!"

Megatron looked up, "Oh? And what is that?"

"It appears that she has somewhat strayed from the mission you have given her, to search out the Autobot Sari, and seems to be malfunctioning. She has taken it upon herself to tear apart an entire Earth city." Starscream turned to Soundwave, who played back on his faceplate the video footage he had retrieved.

Megatron watched the video, and after it was done, sat back on his throne, reflecting on what he'd seen. He sat there for several minutes, looking at no one, thinking.

Starscream studied his face, looking for clues, but Megatron gave no indication.

"This clearly does not lie within the scope of the orders you'd given to her, my lord!" Scream continued. "It would appear to me, she is out of control, and needs to be brought back to the Nemesis immediately. Perhaps there is some error in Scalpel's programming – or, Shockwave's cloning?"

"Maybe. But then again, maybe not, Starscream," responded Megatron.

"Er, maybe not?" Scream looked confused.

"Think about it. We lost Cybertron to the Autobots. Is that not so?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"A base of operations would come in handy to enable us to rally our forces. Why not this misbegotten little blue rock? And if it is to be this one, then one could say, Kālī is actually doing me a favor by preparing the stage."

Starscream sputtered. "Preparing the stage? By herself?!"

"Absolutely! Why should she receive any assistance? Kālī is supposed to be as powerful as the Technorganic Sari, is she not? Let's see how she does on her own against Earth's forces. If she succeeds in laying waste to the best they can throw at her, then our task is practically complete and she returns to the Nemesis with my praises! If not, well…" he chuckled. "She will be honored among the other Decepticons who sacrificed their Spark for the cause."

"But, the Autobots! Won't they come to the aid of the humans?"

"All the better, Starscream!" Megatron got up from his throne. "Tease them out of the shadows! Shockwave is working on a very special project, which shall be revealed shortly. It will be singularly effective against the Autobots. I want them out of hiding."

He walked around, pleased with this new development. "Yes, this new path that Kālī is taking is quite useful indeed!" He turned to Soundwave and Starscream. "Keep me apprised of any further reports of her progress."

The two bowed and exited the throne room. Starscream muttered to himself angrily as they walked down the hall, dejected, knowing he'd lost yet another opportunity to curry favor from Megatron.

* * *

Army General Martinson met with Jasper Police Chief Samuel Atkinson. "I hope you can help, General. My men are getting wiped out here."

"We'll do the best we can, Chief. I've got my men ready to take this thing on and blow it to kingdom come."

"I hope so. We're still in the process of evacuating the town."

Kālī walked down the middle of Main Street. She called out "Sari! Show yourself! Why do you hide! Coward!"

Fighter jets from the 706th Fighter Squadron arrived from Nellis Air Force Base and descended toward Jasper. "Target is in sight," said the lead pilot. "Engaging." He fired his M61A1 20 mm cannon at her.

Kālī put up her skyboom shield to deflect the 20 mm rounds, and ran to the right behind a building at hyper speed.

"Target has disappeared," said the pilot, "will circle around and resume search."

She powered up the plasma boosters on her pedes and servos and took off into the sky, then went after the F-15E jets.

"Lieutenant! Bogie on your tail!" Yelled another pilot.

Kālī landed on the jet and using the mags on her pedes, walked over to the cockpit, where she ripped the top off and grabbed the pilot and co-pilot out of their seats, tossing them like ragdolls into the air. She then got off the jet and grabbing a wing, spun the F-15E around and threw it into the path of another, causing both to explode mid-air.

The remaining jets tried to out-maneuver her in the air, but she was too fast. A pilot fired a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders, expecting that the heat emitted by her plasma jets would guide them right at her. However, she turned in the direction of the missiles and blew them both up with her heat rays before they came near.

"I tire of your games," she mocked, and threw out red orbs from both servos like machine guns to take down the rest of the fighter jets, causing them to crash into the nearby high-desert landscape.

She returned to Jasper. An AC-130 gunship flew in and using a pylon turn, fired sabot rounds directly at her. The ground shook from the strikes, but with her skyboom shield she remained undamaged. She then used her micron boosters to jump up high enough so that she could open her mouth and shoot a sonic pulse at the gunship, which blew it off course, spiraling and sending it crashing into a nearby mountain range.

"Damn!" yelled Martinson. "Send in the M1s"

From a distance, an M1 Abrams fired an armor-piercing sabot directly at her. Once again, Kālī put up her skyboom shield, only in this instance she timed it precisely so that once the projectile made contact, it deflected, ricocheting to the side, destroying a large building. She then went airborne again, and from the sky, made a rapid descent toward each tank, dodging every bit of ordnance and deflecting all firepower. Coming close to where the Army was stationed, she blasted every tank, truck, armored personnel carrier, and cannon.

General Martinson called a retreat, and got on his radio to the Pentagon. "This damned thing chewed up and spit out everything we threw at it!"

Back at Outpost Omega One, Team Prime was watching the television with June and the kids. Arcee, her reattached arm in a sling, stood with the Autobots.

"My God, she's destroying Jasper!" said June, "and the military is getting wiped out!"

"The reporters say she keeps calling for Sari," said Jack. "At least that proves it's not her."

"Any word from Fowler?" asked Arcee.

"Nothing yet," said Ratchet.

"It's ridiculous, us sittin' here doing nothing!" said Jackie. "I could be out in the Jackhammer right now, taking out that little bitch!"

"Easy, Wheeljack," said Optimus. "I understand how you feel, especially with one of my team members injured by her. I appreciate you coming back to be with us, but we must abide by the wishes of the native residents of this planet. Only when they give the go-ahead can we engage this Decepticon."

* * *

Agent Fowler slammed his palm on the desk. "General, with all due respect, we've got to make that decision! This Decepticon is laying waste to our forces!"

"And let the whole world know that we've been keeping from them the fact that for the last several years we've been harboring robotic aliens? Do you have any idea what the reaction to that will be?"

Fowler gestured to the General's plasma television screen, showing the live footage of Kālī flying over the armed forces, blowing up ordnance and killing soldiers like ants. "Is the reaction to seeing this any better?"

"General, let the Autobots do what they can. We'll deal with the aftermath later. Right now, the aftermath for not calling them up is right there on that screen!"

Bryce put his face in his hands and groaned. Getting up from his desk, he walked over to the red phone and picked it up. "Mr. President, it is my judgment that we need to call up the Autobots. Yes, I understand. But it is our only hope. Yes, I am prepared." He hung up and turned to Fowler. "Call them."

* * *

The signal came up on Ratchet's comm. It was Agent Fowler. "Yes, Agent Fowler?"

"Ratchet, General Bryce has just received clearance from the President of the United States. We officially request the assistance of the Autobots in fighting this Decepticon."

"YES!" yelled Jackie. "About damn time!"

"Good luck to all of you." He said.

"Thank you Agent Fowler," said Optimus.

"Let's get going," said Arcee.

"Yip, yip yip!" said Ratchet. "You are not yet cleared for battle. You stay right here until I say so."

"Ratchet's right Arcee," said Optimus. "Heal up, and then join us. Ratchet, bridge us to where this Decepticon is currently located. Wheeljack, see you on the field of battle."

"Autobots! Roll out!"

* * *

"My dear, are you all right?"

"Something's wrong, Dad, I'm sensing it. I can't put my finger on it, but it's got something to do with my friends." They were enjoying an afternoon tea at the Sumdac Tower residence, when Sari suddenly got a disquieting sense in her Spark. Isaac could tell from her expression. The feeling was dull, amorphous, but ever so slowly, getting clearer. She frowned and looked down to the side, searching her Spark.

"Someone's been badly injured," was all she could discern at first. Then, like a lightning bolt, the realization came! She got up. "Arcee!"

"Arcee? Which Arcee?"

"Arcee, the Ninja Scout! I need to go up to the comm." She excused herself and took the elevator up to the roof to get to the special communications device so she could reach her friends in the other dimension.

* * *

The special comm on Ratchet's console crackled. "Hello? Is anyone there? This is Sari."

Ratchet was in sick bay with Arcee. Raf scampered up and answered. "Hi, Sari! This is Raf. Nice to hear from you!" June, Jack and Miko got up and came near.

"Hi, Raf. This may sound silly and I apologize for asking, but is Arcee OK?"

"No, that's not a silly question, Sari, why do you ask?"

"I suddenly got a sense in my Spark that she'd been injured."

Surprised, everyone looked at each other! Jack spoke up. "Sari, Jack here. Yes, Arcee was badly injured. Her right arm was cut off and her chassis was cracked. She's in the infirmary with Ratchet."

"Oh, my gosh! What happened?"

Raf looked at the group and asked, "Should we tell her?"

"Sari, this is June. Remember the injury you suffered on your head? Well, we suspect that it was a Decepticon device of some kind that penetrated your skull and took a sample of your tissues. They used those samples to create a Decepticon clone of you. It attacked Jack and severely injured Arcee."

"A clone of me?"

"Yes, and it seems to have your powers," continued June.

"Sari, I don't know how to tell you this, but it's tearing Jasper apart looking for you," said Jack. "Team Prime just left to go fight it."

* * *

A bridge opened up near Kālī. Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen came out, weapons armed. "Decepticon! Stand down!" said Optimus.

"You don't even know my name, do you, Autobots?" mocked Kālī.

"I'll bite," said Smokescreen.

"I am Kālī, and it means your death!" she said as she quickly fired her most powerful orb at his Spark chamber! The elite guard member moved to avoid the hit, but wasn't fast enough, and got hit on his left side. The red orb burned a hole straight through his chassis. Grimacing in pain, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Smoke!" yelled Bulkhead. Kālī laughed. "You Autobots are slow!"

Just then, a powerful blast hit Kālī right in her side, knocking her down. Then, Optimus blasted her, temporarily causing her to go into stasis. "Ratchet, ground bridge now! Bumblebee, get Smokescreen back to base immediately!" The yellow scout picked Smokescreen up and carried him in to the forming ground bridge.

The Jackhammer started to land, circling the battle site, and prepared to blast the Decepticon again at close range. "Here's another one for ya, you slagging little freak!" yelled Wheeljack.

Kālī awakened, and seeing the Jackhammer, opened her mouth, blasting it with a sonic pulse, then hit it with twin strikes of heat rays from her optics, damaging a wing and sending it into a tailspin. "Scraaap!" yelled Jackie, trying to avoid a crash. He failed and the ship hit the ground hard.

Getting up, she powered up her plasma boosters and flew straight into Bulkhead before he could react, slamming him in the chassis with her shoulder, cracking it open and sending him careening into a nearby building, knocking him out cold. Jumping onto his unconscious chassis, she replaced a servo with her energy chainsaw and grinding its blades loudly, held it within inches of Bulkhead's neck, ready to cut off his helm.

She turned to Optimus. "You listen to me, Optimus Prime! I'll saw off this big one's head right now and present it to my master Lord Megatron as a gift, or I'll let the green one live so he can challenge me another day."

"What are your terms, Kālī?" asked Optimus.

"You tell the Autobot Sari that I will continue to kill humans and destroy this planet until she comes out of hiding and shows her cowardly self to me!"

"That's right, keep standing there talking, you little slotting retro rat!" whispered Wheeljack. He'd climbed out of his crashed ship and was aiming one of his "special" weapons right at Kālī's Spark chamber.

"What if I were to tell you that Sari is no longer here?" replied Optimus.

"Then the inhabitants of this planet are doomed, and…" She turned and shot a pair of red rays from her optics straight at the Jackhammer where Wheeljack was crouching, sending him flying backwards and setting that part of his ship aflame! "…You think I didn't see or hear you back there?"

"I suggest you put a leash on your dog, Prime!" She yelled.

Looking back at Optimus, she said, "you have one solar cycle," and flew off.

Wheeljack got up off the ground and groaned, "I swear, I'll tear that bitch apart with my bare servos!" He looked at the Jackhammer and surveyed the damages. "Dammit! I just got this thing working the way I like it!"

Optimus went over and kneeled down by Bulkhead, who was coming to. "Are you able to get up?"

Bulkhead got up and moaned in pain, feeling the front of his chassis. "Ow! She got me right in the solar plexus!"

"You're leaking Energon. Best to take it easy," replied Optimus. He got on his comm. "Ratchet, open up a ground bridge. I've got another wounded."

"Another?! Who is it this time?"

"Bulkhead."

Back at base, Miko gasped. "Bulkhead? Oh no!"

"Wow! I thought a Wrecker was one of the toughest of the Autobots," said Jack.

"Optimus, I'm staying here," said Wheeljack. "I'm gonna see what I can do to get the Jackhammer up and running."

"Let us know if we can lend a servo," replied Optimus.

"See ya later." And Jackie went to work on his ship.

Returning to base, Optimus helped Bulkhead out of the bridge tunnel.

"Bulkhead!" cried Miko.

"I'm, I'm OK," he replied weakly. "That Kālī, she knocked me for a loop."

"Kālī?"

"That is her name," said Optimus. "And the more we engage with her, the more I see that she is just as powerful as Sari." He brought Bulkhead to sick bay and came back to the command center.

"Optimus, Sari called," said Jack. "She said she sensed that Arcee had been injured and asked about her."

"Her Cyber-Ninja sense," observed Optimus.

"We told her about the battle Arcee had gone through with this clone. Sari is very worried. She asked me to tell you that if you need her back, just say the word. She will discuss matters with Jazz and her Optimus."

"Thank you Jack. With the injuries that our team has endured, I must make a decision, and I must make one very soon."

**It looks like Earth's forces are no match for Kālī, and the Autobots may not be able to defeat her either. Optimus has to make a decision as to whether to request Sari's help. For her part, Sari may ask for assistance from her side, who knows?**

**Whatever is to come, I'm sure it will be quite a battle! Thanks for reading, and please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**The Autobot forces are decimated. Optimus must make a decision. However, Sari and her friends may step forward in the nick of time!**

**NOTE: This chapter introduces lots of pairs of Autobots, some from the "Transformers Animated" universe and those from "Transformers: Prime". To prevent confusion, the following format will be used: TFA for the "Transformers Animated" Autobots and "T:Prime" for the ones from "Transformers:Prime".**

Optimus went to visit sick bay. "How is Smokescreen doing?"

"He'll be all right," said Ratchet. "But that blast from Kālī severely damaged his T-Cog. He won't be transforming again until a replacement can be protoformed on Cybertron."

Optimus sighed and shook his head. "What about Bulkhead?"

"Severely cracked chassis. Never thought I'd see it in a Wrecker. I managed to patch him up, but he'll be out of commission for some time – the thicker the chassis, the longer the healing process. Of course, he'll be out of sick bay sooner than Smokescreen."

"And Arcee?"

"That energy scythe of Kālī's did a clean slice. Completely severed all internal circuitry, Energon supply tubes, related ambulatory servos and supporting architecture. I patched everything up and added stent supports to the reattached limb, but it will never be as strong as the original. She'll eventually require a complete arm replacement."

Leaving sick bay, Ratchet took Optimus aside. "Can I be honest?"

"Of course, old friend!"

"We can't fight this Decepticon alone, Prime. She's decimated our forces here, just like she mowed down the best the humans threw at her. You need to get Sari back."

* * *

"Did you find out about Arcee?" Isaac asked.

"Yes, I did, Dad, and it's very disturbing. Remember what I told you about that injury I got on my head? It seems that it was a Decepticon bot of some kind. It stole some of my tissue."

"What?!" He sat up in his chair. "Whatever for?"

"To grab some of my DNA and CNA. It then carried it up to the Decepticons. They used it to create a Decepticon clone of me. This clone then attacked Jack and severely injured Arcee."

"Sari, we've got to tell Optimus at once!"

* * *

"A clone of you?" Optimus frowned.

"Yes, sir. And from what they told me, it's attacking Autobots and humans in their world."

"Sari, this is terrible!" said Arcee. "We need to reestablish communications with their Optimus. You say you offered to return to their dimension to help?"

"Yes."

"Sari, Arcee, let's go back up to Sumdac Tower and try to reach them right now," said Optimus.

* * *

The special comm at Ratchet's station in Outpost Omega One crackled to life. "Outpost Omega One, this is Optimus Prime from Sumdac Tower. Is anyone there?"

"Optimus Prime, this is Autobot Ratchet. Yes, I am reading you loud and clear. How can I help you?"

"I am here with Sari and our Arcee. Sari told me about your situation with this Decepticon clone. I am here to let your Optimus Prime know that we are ready to offer our assistance."

Optimus stepped up to the comm. "Optimus Prime, this is Optimus from Outpost Omega One. We would very much appreciate your assistance. Would Sari be able to join you?"

"Yes, I am prepared to send her as well as several of our Autobots. Professor Sumdac is willing to come also. He can help with his knowledge of robotics and science. I will transport him in my alt mode."

"Let me know when Outpost Omega One is ready to receive us, and we will be able to send over the Professor, Sari and six Autobots."

"Holy Moly!" yelled Miko! "A whole bunch of Autobots from Sari's world! I wonder which ones will be matched up to ours!"

"Thank you, Optimus, I will give the comm back to Ratchet." He turned the controls back over to his medical bot. "Roger, Optimus. When you have your team ready, Rafael and I will have our bridge ready to receive you."

* * *

"We are ready at our end, Ratchet and Rafael. Autobot Sandstorm is botting the bridge on Sumdac Tower so that our medical bot, Ratchet, can join Team Prime and be available to aid you should there be any further field injuries."

"Thank you! That would be most appreciated. Looking forward to meeting my namesake," smiled Ratchet.

"Well, there's two!" chuckled Miko.

Ratchet and Raf fired up their bridge controls, and Sandstorm readied the space bridge on Sumdac Tower. Outpost Omega One's bridge rings glowed yellow, green and blue. Ratchet and Raf studied the system carefully, while Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, June, Jack, and Miko stood eagerly nearby.

"This is so rad!" Yelled Miko, I've never had a chance to see so many Autobots before, much less from another dimension!"

"Quiet, Miko!" said Jack. "Let Raf and Ratchet concentrate!"

"Here they come!" said Raf. "A whole lot coming down!"

The bridge lit up, and the first to come out was a semi-truck carrying Professor Sumdac. It pulled up to the main area and Isaac got out. As soon as he stepped onto the floor, The truck transformed into TFA Optimus Prime.

"Welcome to Autobot Outpost Omega One," said T:Prime Optimus, "I assume you are my counterpart?"

"Yes, a pleasure to meet you, Optimus," he said, shaking servos.

"And welcome, Professor. Thank you for joining us."

"My pleasure, Optimus Prime," he replied.

The three stepped aside to let the others come through.

"Cool! Two Optimuses…or is that Optimi?" joked Miko. Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Miko..."

Everyone turned their eyes and optics toward the tunnel, as the remaining figures came in. The next was Sari, flying in on her plasma jets. She landed beside her Dad.

"Welcome back, Sari," said T:Prime Optimus.

"Thank you, sir," she saluted. Glad to be here."

Next was Jazz. "Thank you for coming back, Jazz."

"Glad to help out, Optimus."

Then, Bulkhead.

"Oooh, big and green! I'll bet that's their Bulkhead!" said Miko.

"Optimus, let me introduce Bulkhead," said the TFA Optimus.

"Told ya!" smirked Miko, elbowing Jack.

Next came Arcee.

"Hmm. A femme. Bet it's their Arcee."

"And this is Arcee."

"Hey, this is fun!" Said Miko.

Then, Bumblebee.

"Oh, Duh! He's yellow. Gotta be Bumblebee."

"Here is Bumblebee."

"Man, I'm good!" Miko was loving this.

Finally, in walked Ratchet.

"Hmm. He looks old and grumpy. Who d'ya suppose that is?" whispered Miko.

"Miko!" shushed June.

"And finally, please meet Ratchet."

"Woot! Four for four! Go Miko! Go Miko! Go Miko"

By now, everyone turned to look up at the raised area where the T:Prime humans were standing. Sari thumbed a digit up at the Japanese girl doing a little happy dance. "And in case you hadn't guessed, that's Miko."

"Uh, Sorry everyone," said Jack, rubbing the back of his neck. "Miko is…well, Miko is Miko."

* * *

After all the introductions were done, everyone gathered to discuss the battle plan. Wheeljack, back at the base after finishing repairs on the Jackhammer, joined the meeting.

"Let's discuss this Sari clone's Powers," said Jazz. "I assume the Decepticons managed to copy the mods that were readable from Sari's CNA."

"But while they may be incredible in number, I know from my stellar cycles of examining her that not all of her mods are in there," said TFA Ratchet. "For example, her Cyber-Ninja skills were learned. She developed them as a result of the training she received, first from Prowl, then from Jazz."

"That would mean it's likely that Kālī lacks any advanced Cyber-Ninja capabilities," said T:Prime Arcee. "I noticed that when she attacked me. "She attacked from above with her energy scythes, instead of using any sophisticated Ninja moves."

"Sari, you should have an advantage over her in that area," said Jazz.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Then there is the matter of additional mods that were put into Kālī," said T:Prime Optimus. "I saw this at our most recent battle, when she transformed her servo into an energy chain saw."

"And when she threw me back using some kind of energy blast out of her mouth," said T:Prime Arcee. "That was a powerful offensive mod."

"Arcee, describe this tactical device that Kālī emitted from her mouth," said Isaac.

"It was a powerful pulse that shoved me back hard against a brick wall. My audio receptors registered a 10 Hz wave."

Isaac thought for a second. "Then her mod must be some kind of an infrasound sonic weapon, a sonic pulse blaster. That would mean it's dependent on molecules to work – air molecules in this instance. I would wager that her sonic pulse blaster would be useless in the vacuum of space."

"If that is so," said Jazz," then Sari can use Processor-Over-Matter to manipulate the air molecules around Kālī."

"Manipulate the air molecules?" asked Sari.

"Use P-O-M to remove the molecules from around her," he explained. "Let her be in a vacuum bubble at all times, and her sonic pulse blaster will be rendered impotent."

"Yes, that would work!" said Isaac.

"What about the energy chainsaw?" asked T:Prime Optimus.

**("And the energy scythes?")** asked T:Prime Bumblebee.

"Scythes?" TFA Bumblebee raised an optic.

"Yes. The Decepticons replaced Sari's energy blades with these huge articulated scythes," said T:Prime Arcee. "It's what she used to cut my arm off." She gestured toward her sling with her helm.

"Well, if, as Ratchet said, Sari's Cyber-Ninja skills were learned, and not part of her CNA," said TFA Arcee, "then that would also suggest that Kālī lacks any knowledge of the Cybertronian martial arts, such as Metallikato."

"Sari, you said that you used Metallikato to cut off Megatron's arm when you were in Australia, is that right?" asked Wheeljack.

"Yes, but only after I used kuzushi to throw him down."

Jackie laughed. "Yeah, him falling flat on his aft was great. Anyway, seems to me, should this little…" remembering that there were femmes present, he edited himself, "…thing, were to come at you with her energy scythes or chainsaws, you can use Metallikato to slice them off! I'd pay some choice Energon to see the look on her face when that happens!"

"Excellent idea!" said Jazz.

"What about her heat rays? She used them to blast the Jackhammer - my ship - and knock me backwards," said Jackie. "She shoots them right out of her optics."

The group thought about that one. "The only defense I can think of is my Skyboom shield," said Sari. "Sensei, remember that time when you were abducted by those pirates? That pirate captain had a powerful heat blast cannon that he fired at me. My shield protected me. It will probably be my best defense, and then I'll use my orbs as an offensive weapon."

"Just remember, she has orbs as well," said T:Prime Arcee. "Red ones."

"There is something you'll need to keep in mind, Sari," said TFA Optimus. "I assume that the Decepticons in this dimension are every bit as ruthless and twisted as the ones in ours. Remember how Starscream was going to unleash a weapon of mass destruction to kill millions of innocent humans and all of us with his Omega Supreme clone? Millions of lives lost, and for what? So that he could kill Megatron and become the leader of the Decepticons."

"Kālī has demonstrated that she has no reservations about destroying innocent life to satisfy her objective, which is to find you. She knows that in battle, you may hold back, but she will not."

"Optimus is right," said Jazz. "Her Spark is twisted, and devious. She will do anything to win. Another thing to remember: She will attempt to insult you and goad you into reacting with anger, hoping to get you to make rash judgements. Don't let her."

Sari took all this in. Scanning her optics around the entire assembly, she said "I need to meet Kālī in battle alone."

"By yourself, Sari? But, we can help!" said TFA Bulkhead.

"I know, Bulky, but just before we got together, I went to go visit the wounded in sick bay. I saw what Kālī did to Smoke and to this world's Bulkhead - and to you, Arcee," she said, looking at the Ninja Scout. "This Decepticon is looking for me. She's a clone of me. I can't allow her to attack or destroy any more bots or humans. This ends now!"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, T:Prime Optimus spoke up.

"What can we do to help you?"

"Protect the humans. In my dimension, we work side-by-side with them, and in the scenario that my Optimus just mentioned with Starscream's weapon of mass destruction, some Autobots fought, but others helped with rescue operations, and got people away from danger."

"We'll want someone to coordinate with," said TFA Arcee.

"I think the best candidate would be Agent Fowler," said T:Prime Optimus. "Ratchet, contact him and ask him to meet with our task force," he said to his Ratchet.

"On my way." And he got up to get on the comm.

"We'll need a bot coordinator – someone to be a liaison," said T:Prime Optimus. "I think Agent Fowler might work better with a bot he hasn't yet met. It's…just his way."

"Our Arcee is my Intelligence Officer," said TFA Optimus. "She would be a good candidate."

"I'll be glad to work with him," said TFA Arcee.

"Agent Fowler is on his way," said T:Prime Ratchet, coming back to the meeting.

"I'll brief you on Fowler," said T:Prime Arcee to TFA Arcee.

"That'd be great, thanks!"

* * *

Agent Fowler arrived at Outpost Omega One. Getting out of his car, he looked up and was immediately taken aback by the number of Autobots. "Well I'll be a hairy mole on Abe Lincoln's cheek! Prime – you call the cavalry?"

"Agent Fowler, these are friends of Sari's. They joined us to help with her battle against Kālī."

"Kālī?"

"That is the name of the Decepticon clone. Sari will fight her alone. We cannot; we tried, but she has already severely wounded Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Arcee. We Autobots want to help you protect the humans from Kālī while Sari battles her. Kālī has already shown a thirst for killing, and we are ready and willing to stand between her and the humans."

"Fair enough. How do we start?"

TFA Arcee stepped forward. "My name is Arcee, Agent Fowler. I come from Sari's world. I am an Intelligence Officer for my Optimus Prime. It would be my honor to assist you as liaison between the Earth forces and the Autobots assembled here."

Fowler smiled at TFA Arcee's gracious introduction. "Well, pleased to meet you, Arcee. This sounds like a good plan. Let's get started."

* * *

The next day, Kālī returned to Jasper. She stood before the downtown fire station. She picked up the hook & ladder and threw it at the courthouse, impaling it into the wall. Then, walking down main street, she used her sonic pulse blaster to blow apart every storefront window. Stopping at an intersection, she called out:

"Time's up, Sari! Coward! Show yourself or I begin taking apart this miserable planet and all its inhabitants!"

"I'm here, Kālī."

Caught off guard, the Decepticon clone spun around, shocked to see Sari facing her less than a meter away. She'd used Circuit-Su to dampen Kālī's Spark senses, to make the clone totally unaware of her approach. Sari's mouthplate was up, chin down, optics in a cold stare.

Sari was showing Kālī a learned technique totally unknown to her: orb control. Right arm across her middle, servo and digits straight down, a blue orb swirled and moved around by itself like an angry little planet. Her left arm was bent up, digits pointed toward Kali as she casually twirled another orb.

"You looking for me?"

**The battle begins! While Sari and Kālī fight, Agent Fowler and TFA Arcee will do their best to make sure that Kālī cannot use humans as shields, bargaining chips, or agents for revenge.**

**They will do their best to keep the humans far from the battle, but the odds of a certain exchange student sneaking away for a peek are rather high, wouldn't you think? Then what might happen? We'll see! Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**The battle begins! Sari goes to fight her Decepticon clone, and the rest of the Autobots prepare to protect the residents of Jasper from Kālī's wrath!**

**NOTE: In the TFA franchise, Arcee's alt mode was never revealed, but in another story of mine, "Sari's Life as a Transformer", I depict her as having a motorcycle. I'll continue with that here. Any similarity to the T:Prime Arcee is strictly coincidental! :-)**

Mayor Jed Cleveland was sitting behind a desk at his temporary headquarters, located in a trailer outside of the town. He and his staff had been relocated to the evacuation area about two miles southwest of Jasper, while large segments of the town huddled in temporary housing. He was meeting with Chief Atkinson and Agent Fowler.

"Agent Fowler, you can't be serious! It's a robot that is causing this destruction to my town, and you expect me to now accept their help?"

"Mayor Cleveland, I am with Unit:E of the United States Government. We have been aware of the existence of these robotic aliens for several years, and until now, it was a closely guarded secret."

"There are two warring factions. The one laying waste to your town is what is called a Decepticon. The Decepticons are bent on destroying us, and the other faction is called the Autobots. These robots you see outside are the other kind. They are fighting the Decepticons, and want to protect us and our planet."

"And how am I supposed to know the difference?" asked the Chief.

"It's a lot easier than you think. Look at their eyes."

The three left the trailer, and went where TFA Arcee and the Autobots were assembled. Atkinson looked up at Arcee's optics. "And?"

"The Decepticons – the bad ones, have red eyes. The Autobots are blue," said Fowler.

The Police Chief gave Fowler a "you've gotta be kidding me!" look. TFA Arcee spoke up. "Chief Atkinson, Mayor Cleveland, we Autobots have been at war with the Decepticons for millions of years. We protect many other planets from their savagery. They only want to conquer worlds and enslave or wipe out the native species, and since we oppose them, destroy us as well. Three of our Autobots have already been severely wounded fighting this particular Decepticon. We have brought our most powerful Autobot to fight her, and I and my fellow Autobots are ready to protect the people of Jasper while our comrade does her best to rid you of this enemy."

The Mayor looked back and forth between Arcee and Fowler, then at the Autobots standing behind her. "Fair enough." Looking back up, he asked her "and what shall I call you?"

"My name is Arcee, Mayor," she smiled.

"Thank you for your offer, Arcee. I must warn you and Agent Fowler, however: most of these people are terribly frightened, and will react to the sight of you Autobots in the same way I did."

"I understand. We have the ability to change our appearance to make us less unnerving."

"What do you change into?" asked the Chief.

"Vehicles. Let me demonstrate." And she transformed into her alt mode, a motorcycle.

"What the…?" Atkinson looked at the light blue motorcycle which suddenly appeared before him.

"Let me explain," said Fowler. "The Autobots have the ability to 'transform'. Arcee transforms into a motorcycle. Other Autobots transform into other types of vehicles."

"Bulkhead, the large green Autobot you see behind me, transforms into a large SWAT truck," said Arcee from her alt mode.

"Wait. Did you just talk to me from your motorcycle?" asked the Chief.

"Yes, Chief. I can talk through the speaker in my control panel, and I can also see you through my headlight." She transformed back into bipedal mode. "In our alt mode, we're also able to assist with transporting people, if you desire."

Cleveland and Atkinson were floored. "Well, that's incredible," said the Mayor. "A little bit much to take in, I have to admit. Let me call an assembly and speak to the folks here."

"Can you introduce me to your friends?" he asked her.

"Certainly." Arcee smiled.

* * *

Kālī was totally shocked to find Sari standing right behind her! "You!" she yelled, and opened her mouth to blow Sari back with her Sonic Pulse Blaster. However, when she let off a pulse, nothing happened! Her optics opened wide. She tried again – nothing!

Unknown to her, Sari had used Processor-Over-Matter to remove all of the air molecules around Kālī, enveloping her in a two-meter vacuum bubble. Her weapon was thus rendered inoperable.

"Something wrong?" Sari asked, as she returned her two orbs back into her servos and assumed the Ninja offensive stance of Jumonji no kamae.

"I'll slice your head off!" Kālī yelled, as she drew out her energy scythes and spun around, aiming for Sari's neck. Sari waited for the right moment, and deploying her energy blades, unfurled her crossed arms and with a yell, used her Cyber-Ninja Metallikato to slice off both of Kālī's weapons at the roots. They flew off her arms, spinning around in opposite directions, impaling themselves into the ground.

"Aaaah!" she screamed in pain, Energon dripping from her weapon stumps. She kneeled, which gave Sari an opportunity. She pivoted her body and with a flying back kick, used Chōryūken to kick Kālī in the chin, sending her flying backwards.

Unknown to Sari, she had a hidden enthusiast, watching from the shadows.

* * *

June, Isaac and the kids were working with Chief Atkinson, organizing the relief effort and the evacuation. The Autobots were ferrying people out of town to the evacuation center in their alt modes, all the time being alert to any signs that Kālī might be coming near any humans.

In the hectic pace of things, everyone was very busy with their various activities. June was working with the hospital staff, conducting triage on the wounded.

Suddenly, Jack came running up. "Mom? I can't find Miko!"

"I thought she was with you and Raf, distributing food supplies."

"She was, but now she's gone.

"Oh, no. You don't think she…?" Mother and son exchanged knowing looks.

* * *

Kālī got up and took off into the sky. Sari followed her.

"I'll kill every human on this planet!" she yelled at Sari.

"No you won't!"

Kālī laughed. "Think you can stop me? 'Rundi'?"

Sari realized that the Decepticons must have infused Kālī with the Hindu language. "Well, isn't that clever?" she thought. "Rundi" is an insulting Hindu word for a female.

"I'll stop you, Decepticon. Count on it." She got on her comm to T:Prime Optimus. "Kālī's on the move! I'm in pursuit!"

"Acknowledged, Sari. Getting ready to defend Jasper. Keep us informed."

* * *

"Agent Fowler, Optimus, Kālī is on the move," said T:Prime Optimus.

"Let's get ready!" said TFA Optimus.

"I'll let the Chief know," said TFA Arcee, "and Ratchet back at Outpost Omega One."

"Thank you, Arcee," said T:Prime Optimus. "Autobots! Defend the camp!"

* * *

"Soundwave had some Intel on you, Rundi," said Kālī. "I understand you have a father. Tell me, is he really a 'bakrichod'?"

Sari remembered what Jazz had told him about Kālī trying to hurl insults, to goad her into a rash action, and kept her cool. Again, another Hindu word, this time a terrible thing to say about a man, much less one's father.

Kālī looked down and saw the evacuation camp. "So this is where you're hiding them! All in nice, neat rows – ripe for the picking!" Her optics glowed fiery red.

"Optimus, she's here!" yelled Sari on her comm.

"We see her!"

"I've got her in my sights!" said Jackie from his ship, and set off a powerful volley blast at her from his weaponry.

"Not you again!" yelled Kālī, and aimed her heat rays at the Jackhammer. But Sari hit her from behind with her orbs before she could fire back.

"That's the ticket, Sari!" yelled Jackie. "You hit her in the skidplate, I'll get her in front!"

At the same time, TFA Bumblebee shot at Kālī with his combined stinger, T:Prime Bumblebee with his weapons, and T:Prime Optimus with his arm cannon.

Kālī threw up her Skyboom shield to protect her from the onslaught. "Who are all these dirt crawlers?" she yelled.

"They're my friends," said Sari. "They're here to protect the humans from the likes of you. You're not going to hurt anyone."

"Ha! Is this the best they can…?" BANG! Suddenly, Kālī was hit on the side by the remains of a burned out Ambulance thrown by TFA Bulkhead, knocking her down and causing her to crash land face-first into an empty field. Sari had been continually using Circuit-Su on Kālī's Spark to dampen her ability to detect the environment around her, thus making it easier for the Autobots to strike her from every angle.

"Nice shot there, big guy!" yelled TFA Bumblebee. TFA Ratchet then used his magnet-clamps to catch the ambulance and bring it down safely before it landed and hurt someone.

"Good coordination, you two!" Said TFA Optimus.

Frustrated, Kālī got up from the ground and spit the dirt out of her mouth. "You go ahead and protect these dumb stubbies! I'll destroy their miserable little town!" she yelled, and flew back to Jasper.

"Here we go again," sighed Sari, taking off after her.

* * *

"Miko! What the heck are you doing here?!" yelled Jack. "Arcee and I have been looking for you everywhere!"

"What are you doing, riding Arcee? I thought she was injured," said Miko. Then she looked at Jack's motorcycle. It wasn't the same one. "Oh…"

"Hey! I wanted to see the action!" Said Miko, her hands on her hips.

"Miko, that's just stupid! Kālī wounded Smokescreen! She wounded our Arcee…she wounded Bulkhead! You think you'd fare any better?"

Just then, Kālī landed back at the intersection where she took off.

"Jack! Miko! Get on, quickly! We've got to get out of here!" Yelled TFA Arcee.

Too late! Kālī turned to see the two. "Well, well, well! Out for a late night ride?" she mocked. Arcee transformed. "Jack! Miko! Get behind me!"

Sari arrived, shooting orb after orb at Kālī. "Get away from them!"

Laughing, Kālī deflected the orbs with her Skyboom shield. "What's the matter, Rundi?" she mocked, "jealous you don't have a boyfriend? I'll do you a favor and take out the Japanese bitch!"

Miko broke away and ran into a building. "Miko!" yelled Jack and Arcee. Jack ran into the building after her.

"Aw, he doesn't want you, Rundi! He prefers Miko! Oh Jack! Miko! Come on out and play!" yelled Kālī, and shot her red orb at the building instead, causing it to explode. Arcee ran into the building. Finding them, she threw herself over the two just as the bricks, flooring, pipes and rubble came crashing down.

"You see, Kālī? We Autobots protect the humans. You Decepticons will always lose! We will win," said Sari.

"You think you can defeat me, Rundi? I am just as strong as you!" And ran to attack Sari with her fists. She attempted to land a punch at her, but the Autobot ducked the blow and grabbed her arm, throwing Kālī over her shoulder, causing her to land hard onto the ground. She then used Mueikyaku on the Decepticon's body with a series of rapid kicks; the last kick was the strongest, and sent her flying a block down the street.

Kālī got up. Her chassis was cracked from the kicks. In a fit of manic rage, she screamed and fired up her plasma jets, flying at supersonic speed toward Sari, intending to ram her.

That same moment, Arcee began to emerge from the destroyed building. Miko was behind her, but the Autobot was carrying Jack. "Miko! Stay here – I mean it!" she warned the Japanese girl. They hid behind a broken wall.

Seeing the Decepticon speeding toward her, Sari formed a large orb in her servo and threw it at Kālī. The moment the orb came in contact with her body, the blue sphere transformed into a large white, swirling flat disc. Her kinetic energy changed the disc as well. Kālī's momentum pushed her into it like a missile striking a stretchable net, until the disc completely encapsulated her, closing up behind her pedes.

"Wow!" said Miko, watching this.

What was most alarming was the horrifying sound of Kālī's fading screams as the shrinking white capsule proceeded to constrict her atoms into the localized event horizon, until with a tiny white flash, it disappeared.

"She's gone? Kālī's gone? Where'd she go?" Said Miko, running out.

"Into a black hole," said Sari, exhausted. "It's what happens when a rapidly moving object strikes one of my tossed orbs. I've only used it once before on a living being," she sighed. "I used it to protect Sentinel Prime – an Autobot – from a murderous Decepticon."

"That was totally wicked!" Miko laughed.

Sari looked sternly at Miko. "I don't take lightly the sacrificing of a life, no matter what that life is," she said.

"Sari, Kālī would have gone on killing if you hadn't stopped her," said Arcee. "Besides, Miko and I are witnesses: you were defending yourself. I think you did the right thing."

For the first time, Sari noticed Arcee carrying Jack. "Jack! Is he OK?" she said worriedly.

"Oooh, my head," said Jack, coming to. He looked up at Arcee. "Where's Miko? I wanna kick her butt!"

"I don't think you're going to be kicking anyone right now," smiled Arcee. "It looks like your leg got injured from the building explosion."

"No, not the explosion. It was a restaurant. Miko ran behind the counter. I tripped over a bunch of chairs, and landed on some broken glass, then the blast occurred," he replied. "The last thing I remember was you scooping me up and grabbing Miko…then, then the whole place blew apart and something must have knocked me out."

"Hope your Mom can turn those pants into shorts, dude," said Miko, pulling debris out of her hair. "The leg bottoms are shredded! You may have gotten some secondary leg injuries from the blast."

Jack just sighed. "Perfect. I'll be on crutches for a while. Strange though, it doesn't hurt so bad."

"Let's get you to the infirmary," said Arcee.

"I'll take him," said Sari, and took Jack from Arcee's arms. A gust of wind suddenly blew away the strips of cloth covering the bottom of his leg. Sari looked at his shin and gasped. "Jack! Your leg!"

"What?! What?! Is it falling off?"

"Whoa!" Said Miko, looking at it. "Uh, Jack…?"

"Oh, my!" Said Arcee.

"Will someone tell me what's…?" Yelled Jack, until he sat up and looked down at his injured leg. Some skin on his shin was torn away, but instead of blood and bone, there was…sparking circuitry!

Frightened, he looked back at Sari. "What…?"

"We've got to talk to your Mom." And holding tightly on to him, she flew toward the infirmary.

**Whoa! What's going on! It seems Jack needs some answers about this circuitry that's showing under his skin! Sari's going to take him straight to his Mother, and the two will find out.**

**Then there is the matter of Kālī. She's gone. What will be the reaction to the people of Jasper? To the nation? To the world? They are no longer alone; how will that be dealt with?**

**And then the Decepticons. What will be their reaction? We shall see! Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Jack's been injured, but sparking circuitry was just under his skin! Sari is taking him to June for answers.**

Flying to the camp, Sari carried Jack to the infirmary, looking for his mother. She spied her from above.

"June!" Sari yelled. She looked up and saw Sari hovering, then noticed her carrying Jack. "Sari? Jack! What happened?"

"We've got to talk," said Sari.

"Is Jack OK?"

"I'm fine, Mom!" Jack replied, half frightened, half angry.

"Is there a private area somewhere?" Sari asked her.

"Yes, follow me." And landing, Sari followed June into an empty triage tent. She put Jack down on an examination table. June ran up to her son, but before she could examine him, he sat up and pointed to his leg, yelling, "What is this?!" She looked at it and gasped. "Oh no!"

"'Oh, no?' 'Oh no?'?! What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Jack," said Sari, trying to calm him down.

June slumped down in a chair and looked at Jack. "I knew this day would come, but I never knew how I was going to explain it to you," she said. "Then, when Sari arrived here, parts of it started making sense."

Jack looked at June, eyes open wide. "What are you saying?"

"Jack, you are a Technorganic. You were formed in the same way that Sari was."

"What?!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"When we were first married, we tried having children, but I was barren. It was a cause of friction between your...your father and me. Then, one day, we went camping out in the high desert near the Shoshone Range. I got up in the middle of the night to look at the stars, and saw what I assumed was a meteor. But then, suddenly, this glowing pod appeared right in front of me! I went to get closer, and it opened. Inside was a tiny little being made of liquid silver. I can't tell you why I did it, but something made me reach out and touch it. I immediately got a huge shock in my arm, and I fell backwards, unconscious."

"I came to, and heard the sound of a baby crying. I got up, and inside the capsule, the little silvery being was replaced by you."

"I picked you up and carried you back to the campsite. In the morning I showed you to your Dad, and we went back to pick up the capsule. I've been keeping it in a storage shed."

"We raised you as our son. Jack, I'm sorry I never told you this."

"So you kept all of this from me?! Why couldn't you have at least given me a clue?!"

"I didn't know how! I was so afraid that if I told anyone, they'd take you away from me!" She began crying.

"Your Dad…"

"Stop calling him my Dad! He's not my Dad! I don't have a dad! I don't even have a mother!" Jack got off the examination table and began limping out the door.

"Jack! Wait! Don't go, please!" She tried to go up to him, but he turned around and pushed her from him. "Get away from me!" June fell back into the chair, and he left.

She put her head in her hands and began sobbing. "Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Sari transformed into "human" mode, and kneeling down, put her arms around June. She grabbed Sari and held on tight.

"June, it'll be alright. I know what he's going through right now. Let me go talk to him."

"Oh, Sari! He's my son - I love him! I just never knew how to tell him!"

"I know, I know. My Dad went through the same thing. He can help you cope with what you're feeling right now." She helped June up, and looking into her eyes with compassion, said "We're here for you! Now let me go after Jack, and I'll talk to my Dad."

June wiped away her tears. "Thank you, Sari."

She ran out of the tent and caught up to Jack. "Jack! Wait!"

"Leave me alone, Sari!"

"No way! I know what you're going through right now!"

He spun around. "How could you possibly…? Oh, forget it! Of all the people, maybe you do. But her?! How can I ever face her again? She's not my mother! I don't have a mother!"

Now Sari was angry! "Yes you do, and she's in that tent! Who picked you up when you protoformed into your final stage of development? Huh? Huh?! Did she just walk away and leave you there crying in the desert? No! She embraced you and took you as her son!"

She pounded her finger on his chest. "Whose DNA are you carrying in your body right now? Hers! Who raised you, and changed your diapers, and wiped away your tears when you cried? She did!"

"Do I have to go on, Jack, or am I getting through that thick skull of yours?"

"Alright! Alright! So what am I?

"You are a Technorganic. You are half human, half Cybertronian. You got your human half from your mother when she touched your sparkling protoform. It was at that moment when you began the final stage of your development.

Jack started calming down. He sighed, and looked off in the distance. "I'm half robot?"

"Yes, you are."

Jack tried to let that sink in. He put his fingers through his hair. "This, this is like some kind of weird dream! I'm a robot...when do I wake up...oohh!" He bent over suddenly.

"Jack? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I feel tingly all of a sudden…" Then there was a blue flash, and where before there was a "human" Jack Darby, there was now standing before Sari, a "bot" Jack.

He stood back up. "What just happened?" Jack asked in a metallic voice.

"Well, Mr. Darby, you just transformed," Sari said with a slight smirk.

The "bot" Jack was the same size, of course, but he had black/gray armor with blue accents. His helm was smooth, and his face was similar to Sari's, but masculine - light blue, but with a black mask covering his bright crystal blue optics and the bridge of his nose. Across his chest was a blue-ridged gray cover for his Spark chamber, with the circular center slightly glowing.

Sari's smirk changed into a girlish smile.

"What's so funny?" He frowned.

"Nothing's funny at all, Jack. Actually, you look pretty hot, for a Cybertronian," she chuckled.

* * *

Miko arrived at the infirmary, riding on TFA Arcee. "Hey, Sari! Did you find Jack's...Whoa! Who the heck is that?"

Jack turned to Miko and gave an awkward wave. "Uh, hi?"

Miko got off the motorcycle and ran up to "bot" Jack. She stared at him with a goofy grin.

"No. Way!"

Jack rolled his optics and looking back at Sari, he asked in his metallic voice. "How do I transform back?"

"The same way you transformed into 'bot' mode, Jack," Sari smiled. "Do you remember?"

Jack racked his processor, trying to retrace everything that led to his transforming. "I thought about being a robot?"

"Yep. Now think about being a human." He gave the thought, and with a blue flash, Jack transformed into "human" mode.

"Awesome!" Yelled Miko. "Can you fly?"

He turned toward Sari. "Can I fly?"

"We'll cover those things later, Jack. Right now, I think you owe your Mom a big apology." Jack left and went back to speak to June.

TFA Arcee transformed and came up to Sari and Miko. "I saw Jack. I take it he's a Technorganic?"

"Yes," said Sari. He shares his mother's DNA. He's got a long way to go, to learn how to be a Cybertronian. I can get him started."

"How long have you been transforming, Sari?" asked Miko.

"Since I was sixteen," said Sari. "I'm 25 now."

"Wow! I thought you were younger," Miko replied.

"That's because Technorganics don't exactly age. We live as long as Autobots, but our human cells don't deteriorate like full humans. Our Spark keeps our human body at about 18."

"What?! You mean I'm gonna get old, wrinkled and gray, and Jack's still gonna look 18?! That's not fair!"

"Well, there is the other side of things," Sari smiled. "When you get older, you'll be able to go in a bar with no problems. I'm always going to get carded no matter what - IF they even let me have a drink."

"Sari, Optimus Prime from this world needs a status," said TFA Arcee. "No one yet knows that you've defeated Kālī except us."

"Oh my gosh, in all this excitement about Jack, I forgot!" And she transformed into "bot"mode and took off to where the Autobots were gathered.

Arcee looked down at Miko. "I need to be there also, to coordinate with Chief Atkinson and the Mayor. You coming?"

"No way! I wanna see more of Jack in 'bot' mode!" she replied, then changed her mind. "No! Wait! I've gotta tell Raf! Let's go!" And Arcee transformed into her alt mode and Miko got on.

* * *

Jack walked into the triage tent. "Mom?"

June got up. "Jack!" She ran to hug him. "Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry!"

He hugged her back. "No, Mom, I'm the one who should apologize. I was a jerk, the way I reacted. Please forgive me."

"Oh honey, of course I forgive you! Can you forgive me for not telling you all these years?"

"Yeah, Sari kind of set my head straight."

"Hey," she sniffled, "let me look at that leg, OK?"

Isaac came into the tent. "June? Jack? Sari told me what happened! Please, I am more than happy to help you with any questions you may have."

"I was very angry at my Mom for not telling me, Professor," said Jack, but Sari knocked some sense into me. I apologized."

"Oh, I understand, Jack. Sari was so very angry with me. I kept it a secret because I was so afraid of the government finding out and taking her away from me!"

"Yes! That's the same way I felt!" said June. "I love Jack so much, and if they found out, and took him away…" she began to cry.

"It's OK, Mom," Jack hugged her.

Jack looked at Isaac's white streak. "Sari told me how you got that white streak in your hair, Professor," said Jack. He looked at June. "Mom, how come you don't have one?"

"Oh, but I do, Jack. Ladies can dye their hair, don't you know," she smiled. "Which reminds me, it's time for a touch-up," and she showed him the white roots starting to crop up near the middle of her forehead.

Isaac laughed. "Well, that never occurred to me."

"But please, while I'm here, perhaps we can all get together and talk about these things," he continued.

"I'd like that, Isaac," said June. I'll cook all of us up a nice dinner.

"Let's go to where the Autobots are," said Jack. I'm sure Miko's already gabbing about me."

* * *

"Look! Here comes Sari!" Yelled TFA Bulkhead. Everyone looked up to see her approaching.

She landed in front of both Optimus Primes. "Kālī is no more."

Everyone in earshot erupted in cheers and excitement! "Sari! Well done!" Said T:Prime Optimus.

"Yes, Sari, well done indeed! Where is she?" asked TFA Optimus.

"She's…gone. She went to attack me at full throttle with her plasma jets, and I threw an orb at her."

TFA Ratchet gasped. "Kālī went into the event horizon?"

"Yes," Sari replied.

"What does that mean, Ratchet?" asked T:Prime Optimus.

"When a moving object touches one of Sari's tossed orbs, a swirling disc forms. The object is then enveloped by the disc and is shrunken into an instantly formed black hole. Kālī' was compressed by the enveloped disk, and her atoms were destroyed by the event horizon."

TFA Arcee and Miko arrived. "Miko and I witnessed what happened. Sari was defending herself. It was justified."

"Cyber-Ninjas respect all life, no matter how evil," said Jazz. "I know in my Spark that Sari would never wantonly kill Kālī."

"Thank you, Sari, for this act," said T:Prime Optmus. "I know it was not an easy decision."

"On the other hand, there's some exciting news!" called out Miko.

"And what is that?" asked TFA Optimus.

"There's a new Technorganic in our midst!"

"What?!" said TFA Ratchet. "Where did she – or he – come from?"

"Oh, from Jasper, Nevada." Miko was loving the suspense.

"Hold on, hold on! Jasper, as in here?" said TFA Bumblebee. "Girl, you're milking this for all it's worth! Give!"

Just then, Jack, June and Isaac were walking toward the group. Sari turned and saw that Jack and his Mom had reconciled, and smiled. She decided to let Miko keep going with this.

Miko gestured toward the Darbys: "Mechs and femmes, I present to you our newest Technorganic!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother!" he whispered to his Mom.

Everyone turned and looked at Jack and June. "June?" asked TFA Bulkhead.

"No!" said Miko.

"Professor Sumdac?"

"Oh, good grief, no!"

"Uh, Jack, I guess." Bulkhead scratched his helm. "There's no one else left."

"Bingo! The big green guy wins!"

**("Jack? How?")** said T:Prime Bumblebee.

"I injured my leg, and there was circuitry under the skin," responded Jack, "then…Wait! Did I just understand what you said?"

"Well, I guess that makes it official," smirked Miko.

"This is happening waay too fast," said Jack. "It seems like things started right after Kālī blew up the building that Miko and I were in."

"Then, you had a bit of an emotional meltdown," said Sari.

"Yeah, but I'm better now." June gave him a hug.

"Well, Jack, we're very pleased to welcome you! Any speculation as to what brought this on?" asked T:Prime Optimus.

"I have a theory," said TFA Ratchet. "I think the trauma of the explosion, then the sudden emotional realization that he's a Technorganic, might have been the spark that brought on this stage of his Technorganic development."

"Besides, from what I've learned from Dataminer – a bot in our world who is our foremost expert on Technorganics – they tend to begin some important stages of their development right about the human age of sixteen."

"I'm sixteen," said Jack.

"Well," said Ratchet, "there you are."

* * *

After learning that Sari had taken care of Kālī, the town erupted in celebrations! Mayor Cleveland announced a "Thank You, Sari Day" and another "Thank you, Autobots Day". Everyone pitched in to bring the citizens back to their homes, and repairs to the town were begun.

Then there was the matter of bringing the news about Jack to his partner. Miko, being the blabbermouth she is, was forbidden from entering Outpost Omega One until the news was delivered!

Jack, June and Sari drove in to the compound, and were greeted by T:Prime Ratchet and T:Prime Arcee.

"Congratulations, Sari! Optimus told us the news," said Ratchet. "Well done!"

"Thank you, Sari," said Arcee.

"You are welcome," she replied. "But we have some other news we wanted to share with you."

Ratchet and Arcee turned toward the three. "What's that?" asked Ratchet.

"Well," said Jack. "It concerns me. Uh, you see, I learned something about myself I never knew before."

"It was something I'd been keeping from Jack," said June. "Something very important."

Arcee raised a metallic eyebrow. "OK, you two are really getting me intrigued here. Stop beating around the bush. Spill it!"

Jack looked at Sari. "You said this was the best way to do it, right?"

"Yep."

A flash of blue, and Jack transformed into "bot" mode.

Ratchet gasped! "By the AllSpark!"

Arcee's jaw dropped. Her optics were big like saucers. She was speechless for several seconds. Then, a wry smile crossed her face.

"Hey there, partner. That's a new look for you. I like it!"

**So, a new phase of Jack's life begins! Sari will help him adjust to his life as a Technorganic, and start to learn about the mods he may have. His relationship with Arcee will take some new directions as well.**

**Then of course, there is the matter of Kālī. What will be the reaction from the Decepticons?**

**And of course, what about the government? How will they deal with this realization that they are no longer alone?**

**We shall see! Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Long chapter, but lots of things to cover! Jack's first Cybertronian checkup, then he begins training with Sari and Arcee! Then dinner at the Darby's where some questions get answered…**

Team Prime and the TFA Autobots returned to Outpost Omega One. Miko, Raf and Isaac rode in with TFA Bulkhead.

"Jack, it gives me great pleasure to see you in 'bot' mode, and to welcome you as our newest Cybertronian," said T:Prime Optimus.

"Hear, hear!" Said everyone.

"Mr. Darby, follow us, if you please," said TFA Ratchet, standing with T:Prime Ratchet.

"Sure! What's up?"

"It's time for your first Cybertronian checkup."

"Oooh! Oooh! I'm going too!" said Miko.

"Uh, no," said T:Prime Ratchet, holding up a servo, "this will be a private exam. Family members and Autobot partners only." He motioned for June and T:Prime Arcee to follow along.

"If it's OK, I'd like Sari to come also," said Jack.

The two Ratchets looked at each other. "Fine with us," said TFA Ratchet. "Sari's quite familiar with the exam." And Sari went in as well.

They arrived in the exam room. "Alright, Jack, get on the exam table, please," said TFA Ratchet, "and we'll get started."

Jack looked up at the height of the Autobot-sized table. It was way above his head. "Where's the ladder?"

"Ladder? Just jump!"

Jack raised an optic. "You're kidding, right?"

TFA Ratchet rolled his optics and sighed. "These new Technorganics," he grumbled, and looked down at Jack. "Let me explain. As a Technorganic, you possess Cybertronian strength, agility, and speed. Now, when Sari did her little shortcut thing with the AllSpark key, I had to turn those off for a while because of her overload. But you've already got those. Give it a go!"

Sari put her hand on Jack's shoulder for encouragement. "You can do it, Jack!"

"OK, here goes!" And with one bound, he jumped up onto the table! "Wow! I made it!"

"Well, of course!" said TFA Ratchet. "Now, let me explain something to you: as a Technorganic, you possess this same strength, agility, and speed in your 'human' mode as well. But beware! I don't want you showing off in the school gym, you hear? Just because you can now bench-press 500 pounds doesn't mean you should!"

Ratchet looked down at June. "Mom? You make darn sure he understands this! If he winds up getting involved in some altercation with a school bully, he's got to learn how to hold back! I'm serious!"

He turned to his patient. "Jack, with the Cybertronian strength you possess right now, if you're not careful, you could very easily kill someone!"

He looked at Sari. "Glad he invited you, Sari, you know just what I'm talking about."

June was looking very concerned. Sari put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, June. I have the same strength in 'human' mode as well, and I've learned how to hold back. He and I will work on it."

June sighed. "OK."

"So, how's the leg doing?" asked T:Prime Ratchet. "I understand you had some damaged circuits from that blast in Jasper."

"Oh, doing great!" said Jack. "Ratchet patched me up shortly after my Mom and I arrived at the spot where all the Autobots were."

"Nice to have a field medic around!" smiled T:Prime Ratchet at TFA Ratchet.

"Heh! Glad to lend a servo!" he chuckled.

"Anyway," he continued, "let's begin, Mr. Darby." And he turned on the examination equipment. A green light shone over Jack's chassis, and two bright laser-like beams crossed over him, intersecting back and forth several times, going slower and slower with each pass until they finally stopped. Several three-dimensional models of various parts of Jack's Cybertronian body appeared on large monitors, and a great deal of data began scrolling on others.

"Now, let's see what we have here," said TFA Ratchet.

T:Prime Ratchet looked at the health indicators. "Spark in good health. Processor, T-Cog, Mechanical Systems, Energon Levels, Backup Systems, everything looks good!"

He turned to Jack. "Perfect Cybertronian health!"

"Well, glad to hear that!" said Jack.

TFA Ratchet turned to Jack's list of mods scrolling and scrolling, and motioned to his namesake. "Will ya look at this," he said, pointing to the monitor. "What is it with these Technorganics and their endless list of mods?"

Both Ratchets watched the list going down. "Incredible," said T:Prime Ratchet. "Just like Sari's. You know, the first time I checked her, I thought my equipment was malfunctioning."

TFA Ratchet chuckled. "Whoever the bot was that created these sparkling protoforms just had fun stuffing them full of mods."

"Wait. Go back to the beginning," said TFA Ratchet. "Check this out!"

"What? What do you see?" asked T:Prime Ratchet.

"I remember Sari's sequence - the way in which her mods became activated. Jack's mods are in a different sequence. Now, isn't that interesting," he mused.

"Why do you suppose that is?" asked T:Prime Ratchet.

"Beats me. Why would they do that?"

"OK, you two," interrupted Arcee, "you sound like a couple of mad scientists. Mind cluing us in?"

TFA Ratchet cleared his throat. "Oh, er, well, Jack's list of mods are quite similar to Sari's, but with a few differences. Just a theory, mind you, but it looks like the differences lie in him being a mech, whereas Sari has a few that may be more for a femme. For example, in weaponry. Sari has those energy blades. Jack on the other hand, has a broadsword."

"Really? Cool!" said Jack.

"Also, some of the sequencing is different," said T:Prime Ratchet. "Sari got her plasma jets much later - is that correct?"

"Yes, when she was about...19, as I recall," said TFA Ratchet.

"But Jack's got them right now."

"I can fly?" Jack was getting excited!

"Yes. But Sari got her azusa skates right away, whereas you're not getting them for a few stellar cycles."

"No skating around for you yet, Jack," teased Sari.

"All very interesting stuff, I'm sure," said Arcee, "but what does he have right now?"

The two Ratchets went back to the display. "Well, let's see here," said TFA Ratchet. "Broadsword...plasma jets...Skyboom shield...Hyperspace mallet…Micron boosters…orbs, of course…targeting mod...Oh! Would ya look at this!"

T:Prime Ratchet check out the line item. "Ah! That's a good one!"

Arcee growled. "You two…"

T:Prime Ratchet turned around. "Sorry." He read the mod: "Enhanced optics. Full visual spectrum, and...X-Ray vision."

"Not in 'human' mode, I hope!" said June, having thoughts of Jack using it in school!

"Oh no no no, just in 'bot' mode," said TFA Ratchet. "Continuing on. Language mod…"

"_So nice to be able to converse with you in Hindi, Jack!"_ said Sari in Hindi.

"_Hey! And I'll be able to ace my French tests!"_ responded Jack.

"_And of course, Sari won't be able to say things in Japanese, thinking you won't know!"_ said Sari in Japanese.

Jack and Sari started laughing. Everyone else just stood there wondering what they were talking and laughing about.

"Ahem!" said TFA Ratchet, calling an end to the multi-lingual exchange. "Alright, enough showing off, you two!"

"What about my mojo mod?" asked Sari.

"Hmmm, let's take a look here," said TFA Ratchet, scrolling through the mods. "Don't see it, but there's so many! You know what, Jack? You really ought to pay a visit to Dataminer – in our dimension. He loves poring through these lists."

"That's a great idea! Jack and I can go together!" said Sari.

"Oh! What about Cyber-Ninja abilities?" she asked.

"Well, that's not a mod, of course. You'll have to take that up with Jazz," said TFA Ratchet, "he'll want to examine his Spark to see if he has the potential."

T:Prime Ratchet looked at the monitor. "Let me see, where did we leave off? Ah, yes. I think that's about it for now. He'll be getting more in about a stellar cycle - is that right, Ratchet?"

"Exactly. Unlike with Autobots, who get their mods at protoform time, Technorganics get theirs gradually over time, until they reach their organic adulthood. You'll want to keep an eye on this field here as you do your regular exams on Jack," he pointed out a column on the monitor. "That will tell you which ones are coming due."

"OK partner," said Arcee, "looks like you and I have some training to do on using your mods, as well as getting you started on basic battle techniques."

"Battle?!" said June.

"Well, of course!" said Arcee. "He's not going to be a clerical drone bot - certainly not with a broadsword weapon! He was built for battle."

"Don't worry June," said T:Prime Ratchet, "he's not going to be running into the heat of battle against Decepticons just yet. Right now, he's a trainee."

Now, as long as you're here, Arcee, let's have a look at that arm," said T:Prime Ratchet. He removed it from the sling and put it under his scope. "It's healed quite nicely! But remember, it's not as strong as it was before. You'll eventually need a complete replacement of that arm, so take it easy. But for now, I think you can do without the sling."

"Thanks, Ratchet," she said, rubbing her healed arm.

Arcee, Jack, June and Sari left the exam room and headed back to the central command area.

"How about some basic training on those mods, Jack?" asked Arcee. "Let's go out into the desert and see how you do."

"Sounds good!"

"Sari, why don't you join us? You can help Jack with his mods," said Arcee.

"Glad to tag along, you two!"

Arcee transformed into her bike, and Jack got on. However, he was still in bot mode, and quite heavy, of course.

"Ooof!" Said Arcee. "Hey, partner, if you don't mind, can you transform into 'human'? Your 'bot' chassis weighs a ton!"

"Ooops! Sorry!" And with a blue flash, Jack transformed into his "human" mode.

"Aaah! Much lighter, thanks! First thing we're working on is your plasma jets!"

Sari giggled.

"OK, Mom, we'll be back!"

"Bye, Jack! Good luck!" she said, as Jack and Arcee took off and Sari flew behind. She stood at the entrance to the tunnel, pondering the events of the last 24 hours. Mothers have watched their sons grow up and start to spread their wings for thousands of years, she thought, but this one takes the cake…

She turned and began walking to her car, when she saw Isaac. He looked at her and smiled. "You know, it's a funny thing. Our children always have the capacity to amaze us with their gifts, their talents, their love, and just when we think we've seen it all, they go and raise the bar again."

She smiled, and put her arm around his back as he escorted her to the car. He opened the door for her. "You take care of yourself, June. Jack's going to be fine. He's a good boy, and Sari and the Autobots will teach him well, this I know!"

"Thank you, Isaac, and we'll see you for dinner tonight?"

"I am looking forward to it!" And he waved goodbye as she drove off.

* * *

Jack and Arcee arrived at a remote spot in the high desert, and Sari landed beside them.

Jack took off his helmet. "Looks like a good spot, wouldn't you say, Sari?"

"I was flying above and there was no one around for miles."

She stared at Jack for a second, and gasped. "Jack! Your eyes!"

"What?"

"Look in Arcee's mirror!"

He bent down to look at his face. His pupils had turned bright blue!

"Aaah!" He screamed. "What is this?!"

"I, I don't know," Sari replied, "except that my eyes used to be brown."

"Another part of the Technorganic process?" Said Arcee.

"I guess. It happened to me, so you too, Jack."

"So, what do I do? Sky blue eyes? How do I go to school like this?!"

"Uh, wear gray/blue contacts?" Sari suggested.

Jack gave her a "for real?" look. "Gray/blue contacts."

"Either that, or tell people you're wearing light blue contacts," said Arcee. Jack sighed.

"OK, drama over. Let's get started," Arcee announced, and transformed into bipedal mode.

"First order of business. Plasma jets. Sari, maybe you can be the coach," said Arcee.

"OK, Jack, let's go out into that open field to the left," said Sari. And Jack transformed into "bot" mode and stood a distance away from the two femmes. "How's this?"

"Good. Now, to power up the plasma thrusters, concentrate on your pedes and servos. Think about turning them into jets."

Jack concentrated, and the thrusters fired off in unison. "Wow!" he said as he started going up into the air.

"Pretty cool, partner!" said Arcee.

"Uh, how do I get down?" he asked.

"You control it by concentrating, and…" unfortunately, Jack thought about turning off the jets! He fell back to earth, landing splat!

"Ow."

"Uh, not that way," said Sari. "You have to concentrate on throttling back."

"Let's try it again. Don't worry! The first time, I crashed too."

Jack got up and tried once more. This time, he ascended, and when he reached an altitude of a meter or so, he thought about throttling back the jets, and he shakily came back down.

"Good! Now, try using your pedes for altitude and your servos for direction."

"Huh?"

"Like this." And Sari demonstrated the technique, ascending only with her pedes, then moving side by side with her servos. Jack tried it, and with practice, got the hang of navigating this way.

"OK, now do the opposite. Use your servos for altitude, and your pedes to move around." And Jack tried this maneuver, falling down once or twice, but with practice, he got it down.

"You're a good instructor, Sari!" said Arcee.

"Thanks! I had a good Sensei in Jazz."

"Now! A very important technique," said Sari. You have to know how to use your comm while in the air."

"My comm?"

"That little button on the left side of your helm. It's how you communicate with other bots. Try it out." And Jack pressed a digit on the button. "Like this?"

A beep came in on Sari's and Arcee's helms. "Yes, Jack?" Sari responded.

"Whoa!" he said. "I heard you in my head! But, I didn't see your lips moving, Sari."

"That's because I responded to you in Cybertronian," she explained. "When you're in the sky, going at Mach 3, or in space, speaking doesn't work. Autobots speak electronically. Now, I'll signal you, and you respond to me in Cybertronian." And Sari touched her comm.

"Jack?"

He touched his comm and not using his lips, responded. "Sari?"

"Very good!" They ended the comm lesson.

"Now, the reason I brought that up – in addition to showing you how to use your comm – is because when you're up in the air with your plasma jets, you have to press that little button to respond if someone hails you, or if you need to hail someone. Which means, you have to turn off the jet in your left servo and fly with only three jets."

"Actually, eventually you'll need to learn how to fly with just the jets in your pedes, like I did when I carried you to your mom. But we'll cover that after you've had some more experience. So for now, let's get you flying with three jets."

"Tell you what, Jack," said Arcee. Go up and hover about a meter with four jets, then turn off the jet on your left servo and hail me on your comm."

Jack gulped. "Uhh, Ohh Kay…"

"Hey! If you crash land, I won't laugh, I promise!" she smiled.

Jack rolled his optics. "Thanks!" And he gave it a go. He went up a meter, and hovered. He hesitated.

"C'mon, partner, I'm waiting!"

"Eee…" And he concentrated on keeping three jets going and turning off the jet in his left servo, all the while maintaining his hover.

"You can do it, Jack!" Yelled Sari.

The left servo jet turned off. The other three kept him up. He reached for the comm on his helm. "Arcee?"

She touched her comm. "Yes?"

"Hi?"

Arcee smiled. "Congratulations. Good job!" He came back down to the ground.

"So Jack? Are you ready for a flight test? I'll be with you."

"Uh, are you sure?"

"Hey, I did my first flight solo. I promise you, if you have problems, I'll catch you! Let's give it a go!" And she took off and hovered above him. "C'mon! Let's go!"

"Go for it, Jack!" said Arcee.

"Oh boy!" And he took off, with Sari right by his side. They climbed into the sky.

Sari looked over and noticed that ever since they took off, Jack hadn't taken his optics off of her. She smiled, and got on her comm.

"Jack! Look down!"

He looked away from Sari and suddenly noticed the clouds, Nevada mountains and desert landscape below him. "Whoa."

"We're cruising at about 8,000 meters right now. How does it feel?"

He successfully turned off his left servo jet and got on his comm. "This. Feels. Awesome! I could fly around up here forever!"

"I know how you feel," she responded. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Suddenly, Arcee cut in on the comm. "You two about done with the flight training?"

"Ooops," said Sari. She responded to Arcee. "On our way!"

"Guess we'd better head back, Jack. Which takes us to your last flying lesson for today."

"What's that?"

"Landing."

"Landing?!"

"Well, duh! I assume you weren't planning to crash land. Follow me." And Sari led Jack back to where they started.

"Now. Remember how you used your servos for altitude and your pedes for steering?"

"Uh huh." He said nervously.

"Keep your servos pointed down, and use them to throttle yourself slowly, steering with your pedes. That's it…easy…good…just a few more meters…and…you've landed!"

"Nice job, partner!"

"You'll be a pro at it before you know it!" said Sari.

"Now, I want to see that broadsword!" said Arcee.

"I assume it's your version of my energy blades," said Sari. And she released hers.

He looked at his arm. "How do I release it?"

Concentrate on your right arm. Then think about releasing your weapon."

"Just like I release mine," said Arcee, releasing her blaster.

Jack concentrated on his right arm, and thought about releasing his broadsword. He heard and felt clicking and shifting noises on his arm, and watched in amazement as his right servo disappeared and in its place was a long glowing Cybertronian broadsword.

"Wow!" he said, holding it up into the air and taking some swipes.

"Nice weapon for a warrior-class bot," Arcee commented. "You'll need a shield, Jack. "Let's see that Skyboom on your left arm. Do the same thing you did for the sword, only release your shield."

He concentrated on his left arm, and again felt and heard the clicking and shifting. This time, the armor opened up, and resting on his arm was a large shield, with a handle for his servo.

"It's a Skyboom shield," said Sari, "which means you control its size, all the way from small, to big enough to cover your whole body – and even others around you if need be."

"We'll train on those," said Arcee. "For now, just put them away. I want to see your orbs." And Jack retracted the shield and the broadsword.

"Now, the orbs come out of your palms." Sari held up her servo to show him. "Look at your two palms; you should have the same circles in the middle."

He turned his servos over. "Yep, you're right."

"Now, Ratchet said you also have a targeting mod. That's good! I didn't have that at first. It really helps. Once you aim at a target with your optics, you'll see in your vision targeting aids. When you and Arcee do offensive training with moving objects, you'll get a chance to see how that works."

"But to shoot an orb, you aim your palm out toward an object and concentrate about firing from that part of your servo. Like this." And she demonstrated the technique, firing a blue orb at a boulder, disintegrating it.

"There's another big rock. You try." And Jack did the same thing, only his blue orb was small, and did nothing other than push the rock a few feet away.

"What…?"

"No no! That's OK! Your orbs will vary in size and intensity, depending on the intensity of your will. The stronger you will it, the bigger and more powerful the orb will be. Think of it like a punch."

"Try again, only this time, give it more oomph." He tried again, and this time, the orb was much bigger, and blasted out of his palm, hitting the rock, disintegrating it into thousands of shards.

"Whoa!"

"Excellent! Again, when you train, you'll want to practice varying the size and strength of your orbs."

"What about the tossed one, like you did to Kālī?" asked Arcee.

"Oh. That one is extremely dangerous." She turned to Jack. "Please promise me you won't attempt that until you've had quite a lot of experience."

"I won't, Sari, I promise."

"Autobots never kill living beings with impunity. And that particular weapon does kill."

"Well, it's getting late," said Arcee. "And if I recall, you two have a dinner date with your parents at the Darby's."

"Jack, care to fly back to base with me?" smiled Sari.

"Sounds great!"

"Works for me, partner! Give my chassis a rest!" And Arcee transformed into her alt mode and drove away. The two Technorganics fired up their plasma jets and took off into the sky.

* * *

Arriving at Outpost Omega One, Arcee transformed back into bipedal mode and walked into the command center.

"Where's Sari and Jack?" asked Raf.

"Behind me," smiled Arcee. And flying out of the tunnel were a yellow and cream colored bot and a black and gray one. They landed on either side of the Ninja Scout.

"Cool!" said Raf.

Sari transformed, but only her head. The rest of her was still in "bot" mode. "Hi, Raf!" she said.

Jack did a double-take. "Wait a minute! How'd you do that?"

Sari chuckled. "Easy! Just think about transforming only your head." And Jack did the same. "Heh! Pretty neat!" as he looked at his Autobot chassis with his eyes.

Miko came down the stairs. "Whoa! Jack! What happened to your eyes?"

"Uh, little continuation of my Technorganic stuff, I guess. Hope my Mom doesn't freak out."

"Duh! Maybe you should wear sunglasses or something!"

"Hey, you know? That's not a bad idea! At least until I can ease her into it."

**("I can drive you all home")** said T:Prime Bumblebee.

"That'd be great, Bee, thanks!" said Jack. "You mind if we make a quick stop at the Mall? I need to pick up some sunglasses."

**("No problem!")**

"Great! Appreciate it!"

Raf chuckled. "I'm gonna have to get used to not being the only one who can understand you, Bee!"

"I'll meet you at your house later, Jack," said Sari. "Bulkhead's driving my Dad and me." And the kids piled into Bumblebee's car and took off. Sari walked down to the infirmary. She wanted to check on Smoke and T:Prime Bulkhead.

She walked up to Smokescreen's station. "How are you feeling, Smoke?"

"Doing, OK, Sari, thanks," he smiled. "Hey, I heard what you did with Kālī. Thanks for taking care of her."

"Guess I won't be transforming for a while," he said.

"I was talking to my Optimus. We're going to get a T-Cog from my world for you. That way you won't have to wait for one to be protoformed here."

"Oh, man, that'd be great! Thanks so much!"

"Oh, you bet! You rest up, and take care, OK?"

"I will! Be seeing you!"

She then went to see Bulkhead. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Oh, hey, Sari! I'm doing good. Doc says my chassis is healing great! Jackie was by earlier. He told me what you did. Good on ya! And Miko, she's here every day, stoppin' by," he chuckled.

"Glad to see you doing better! Hope to see you up and about soon!"

"Oh, I will be, you can count on that! Thanks for stopping by!"

"You bet!" And leaving sick bay, she met up with her Dad.

"So my dear, how was your training session with Jack?"

"Went great! He's doing just fine. But you'll never guess: his eyes are bright blue now, like mine!"

Isaac chortled. "Well, isn't that something! Must somehow be part of the development process. I wonder what June's going to say!"

"Jack's getting sunglasses, to lessen the shock."

"Heh! Good idea! Well, shall we head on over?" And they met up with Bulkhead, who transformed into his SWAT vehicle. Sari transformed fully into "human" mode and they left for the Darby's.

* * *

"Mom? I'm home."

"Hi, Jack! You're just in time to help set the table." June came into the living room.

"What's with the sunglasses?"

"Uh, well, I've got something to show you."

"Oh no! Please don't tell me you got a black eye fighting!"

"What?! No! Nothing like that! But you should maybe sit down."

Nervous, June got in a chair. Taking a deep breath and expecting the worst, she said, "OK, what is it?" He took off his sunglasses.

She gasped! "Jack! What happened? Your eyes!" She instantly got up to examine them. "Do they hurt? Can you see OK? Did you injure them in training?" She ran to get her nurse's bag. "Let me get my ophthalmoscope."

"Mom, no, it's OK."

She grabbed her scope and looked in his eyes. Shocked, she stepped back and dropped her instrument. "Jack…your eyes…they're not human anymore!"

"You're kidding! I had no idea. Well, now that you mention it, my vision is a lot sharper." The sun was setting, and he opened the door to look outside in the twilight. Although things were bathed in shadows, he noticed he could see details clearly, even those things that, to a human, would be very dark. He stepped back inside.

"My eyes…are like Sari's now! Remember when you examined them?"

"Yes. It was almost bionic, looking inside her eye. And now you, too?"

"Guess so. We were riding out into the desert to train, and on the way, it just happened."

"But, you're OK otherwise?"

"Yeah. Actually, better than OK. I can see things in the dark! But what am I going to do back at school? Sari suggested contacts."

"I guess that's an option," June replied. "Let's talk with Sari and her Dad at dinner." And they went to go prepare the dining room.

* * *

"June, this is delicious! Thank you for having us," said Isaac.

"My pleasure, Isaac. So, Jack gave me quite a start today," she smiled. "What with his eyes and all."

"Yes, I can imagine! Well, he chuckled, you should have seen the look on my face, when Sari upgraded herself, and went from being an eight-year old girl to a sixteen-year old!"

"Wait! You skipped over eight years?" Jack asked Sari. "That means you're actually one year older than me! You're only 17!"

Sari put down her fork. "Huh. I guess you're right! Except…I did hit 16 nine years ago…so, does that really make me 17?"

Jack shook his head. "Aaah! That gives me a headache. Or is it a processor ache?"

Isaac laughed. "Well, I'm nine years older than when it all first happened, and believe me, I feel it!"

"But as for the eyes," he continued. "The Spark guides the development of the human cells, and alters them as the Technorganic develops into adulthood. At least, that's how Dataminer, the Autobot expert explained it to me."

"So, I'm not 100% human then?"

"No, there are parts that remain Cybertronian even when you are in 'human' mode," explained Sari. "That's why when the skin came off, you saw the circuitry. And in place of a human brain, you have a processor."

"And a Spark chamber in place of a heart," said Jack.

"Correct. And your processor will continue to develop, especially with the mods that have come on board, like with that language mod."

"That's right, Mom! No more 'C' grades in French class for me!"

"Oh?"

"One of the mods – Cybertronian capabilities – that turned on in Jack is a language mod. He now can speak and understand millions of languages," said Sari.

June stopped mid-fork. "Millions?"

"Needed for all the planets out there in the universe," she smiled. "As well as the languages here on Earth."

"So good luck in school, Jack!" Sari smiled.

"By the way," said Isaac, "speaking of school. How did you manage to get Jack enrolled? I had to build tutor bots for Sari, since she didn't have any papers showing she was actually born."

"Oh! My husband works for the government, and through contacts, managed to secure papers for Jack: birth certificates, Social Security numbers, and such. We were leaving Nellis at the time, and after we took in Jack we settled in Jasper."

"So, none of that stuff's real?" Jack asked.

"No, honey, I'm sorry," she said.

"Then, where did I really come from?"

"That's a question I've been asking too, Jack," Sari said, looking at him. "Maybe together, you and I will find the answer someday. It could take decades, it could take hundreds of years, who knows?"

"Wait, what? Did you just say 'hundreds'?" asked June.

"Or longer. You see, Technorganics live as long as Autobots, and Autobots live for millions of years."

June dropped her spoon! She froze for a second. "Oh, I'm sorry!" and picked her spoon up. "I had no idea! You mean, Jack's going to live for millions of years?!"

"He should, yes. And another thing: he won't age. His Spark will keep him looking 18."

"18?" She looked at Jack. "You know, it's kind of funny," she smiled. "but as you got older, Jack, you started to resemble pictures of my grandfather when he was a teenager. I sometimes wondered, as you got older, if you would wind up looking like him. But it's not important. The important thing is we're a family, and we've got good friends!"

She got up and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you! And I'm excited about your future!"

"Me too, Mom," and he hugged her back.

"Now, about that broadsword…"

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Oh, boy."

**So begins Jack's new life as a Technorganic. June and Sari will help him adjust to "civilian" life so he can go back to school (wonder what will happen when he meets up with a certain bully?). And there is training with Arcee. Of course, he's not ready for battle – yet…**

**And of course, there are the Decepticons. Do they have any of Sari's CNA left?**

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**The dinner visit at the Darby's continues. Jack and June get some additional questions answered.**

After dinner, everyone relaxed in the living room. Conversation continued.

"So, Jack, I have an optometrist friend in the mall," said June. "Let's stop by there tomorrow. He can get you outfitted with blue/gray contacts."

"Guess that's my best choice," Jack sighed.

He turned to Sari. "What happens to my human parts when I transform into 'bot' mode?"

"It goes into your personal subspace chamber, where they're maintained in a suspended state. It's the same place where your Cybertronian chassis is being stored right now. You swap out the components at will."

"So, do the Autobots also have their own personal subspace chamber? Like Arcee for example. When she materializes her blaster; does it come from there?"

"Exactly. All Cybertronians have one. The Cybertron scientists refer to that dimension where the subspace chambers are located as transwarp. It's a buffer between dimensions."

"Can anyone else access my chamber?"

"No, only you. When your sparkling protoform was created, you were locked into a personal frequency, which is available to no one else. Same with every other bot."

"What do the Autobots – the Cybertronians – live on?" asked June. "I assume they require some kind of food source."

"Ah! Glad you brought that up, June!" said Sari. "I'm surprised neither of the Ratchets mentioned it during Jack's exam. Cybertronians require Energon to survive."

"I've heard them talk about Energon. What is it, exactly?"

"Energon is the preferred fuel of Autobots. It takes many forms, including ore, crystal, gas, and raw energy, but it is most commonly used in its liquid state, which can be stored in many different mediums, most often in what's called the energon cube."

"Raf explained it once," said Jack. "He said Energon's like food, gas, blood and electricity all mixed into one."

"That's pretty accurate!" said Sari.

"Does Jack need this Energon? For his 'bot' mode, I mean." asked June.

"Oh, yes! He'll need it to keep his Cybertronian half functioning."

"How much and how often a day?"

"One cube a day is all we need. And being as small as Jack and I are – compared to the Autobots - we require a much, much smaller cube than they do."

"Is that why you rode your scooter every day from here or from school to Outpost Omega One?" asked Jack.

"Yep."

"So Jack, looks like you'll need to get to Outpost Omega One daily," said June.

"Hey! I could fly there!"

"Now, Jack," said Sari. "I know we're no longer 'Robots in Disguise' after the Kālī incident, but let's not overdo it."

"I have an idea," said Isaac. "Let's talk with Optimus. Maybe we can arrange for a supply to be kept here. I can help design and build a storage unit and dispenser that he can use."

"That would be wonderful, Isaac!" said June. "And Sari could use it too when she stays with us."

"How is the Energon ingested, Sari?" June continued.

"In 'bot' mode, you take the cube and opening your mouth, pour it down your, what would be the human equivalent of your throat."

"What does it taste like?" asked Jack.

Sari laughed. "I have no idea! Cybertronians have no taste buds. When it hits your fuel tank, there's a slight electrical feeling throughout your chassis."

"Wait. 'fuel tank'?" said Jack.

"Yes. You didn't think Cybertronians had stomachs, did you?" she smiled.

"Well, why not?"

"Because they don't eat food. There's no need for them to digest."

"Oh! And afterwards, no, uh, well, you know..." Jack said awkwardly.

Sari laughed! "No, none of that!"

"Did you ever try it in 'human' mode?" asked June.

"Oh, no! I don't think that would be a good idea. It could be toxic!"

"Do Technorganics sleep?" asked June.

"Yes and no. The answer is, 'It depends'. While in 'human' mode, our Cybertronian half is in the personal subspace chamber, in suspended animation. Likewise when we are in 'bot' mode, our human half is in suspended animation. So if we spend the majority of the day in one state, then that active state will need to rest. So if the active state is 'human', then we will need to sleep."

"If on the other hand the majority of the day is in 'bot' mode, then we will need to go into what's called stasis rest, or recharge. Kind of similar to sleep, but waking up is very different. Our Cybertronian body will initiate a system reboot, and then a systems check as it brings everything back online: mechanical systems, weapons systems, T-Cog functionality, internal and backup systems, and then processor. Then it checks Energon levels and Spark rate and registers that final systems check is complete. And you wake up."

"Any problems uncovered during the check will be noted and stored in a special register so a medical bot can retrieve and diagnose."

"You see all this in your head while you're waking up?" asked Jack.

"Sort of, but you're not fully functional yet, kind of like being sleepy – and also, it happens very fast."

"What were some times when you were in 'bot' mode a lot and had to go into stasis rest?" asked June.

Well, for example, when I was at Autobot Boot Camp, I spent most of the entire seven weeks in 'bot' mode. So in the evenings, we all went into statis rest. And then recently, when I left for a week to go help rebuild Cybertron and then went to Gorlam Prime, I was entirely in 'bot' mode."

"You know Jack, when you graduate, you should consider signing up for Autobot Boot Camp. Talk it over with Optimus and Arcee."

"Any other questions my Dad or I can help you with?" she asked.

"Not for me, but that sure is a lot to take in," said June. "Thanks!"

"I'm good," said Jack.

"Perhaps, now that we've got the transporter working, you can both come visit us," said Isaac. It would be very nice to have you come to Sumdac Tower in Detroit!"

"That would be lovely, Isaac, thanks!"

* * *

The Autobots pitched in during Jasper's rebuild. While working side by side with the population was a new experience for Team Prime, for the TFA Autobots it was fairly routine. "With the battles we've had against the Decepticons in Detroit," said TFA Optimus to T:Prime Optimus, "I can't tell you how many times Mayor Edsel needed us to help rebuild highways, overpasses, parking lots, and the sports arena," he chuckled.

The rebuild was also a good chance for Jack, in "bot" mode, to start making use of his mods. He and Sari were able to go into the collapsed buildings and retrieve whatever intact items they could find. Jack used his X-Ray mod to scan behind the fallen debris, broken bricks and cement blocks, looking for safes, cash registers, and any other useful items the owners wanted saved before the wrecking crew arrived. When he spied an item, he and Sari dug in and excavated it, then carried the load out for the owner to reclaim.

They also worked together repairing the damaged parts of the Mall. At one time, a replacement overhead walkway from the parking garage to the second level needed to be raised, but the crane broke down. Sari and Jack grabbed both ends, and using their plasma jets, lifted the walkway up and held it fast so the construction workers could fasten it to the steel connectors.

Jack also used his X-ray mod to help Fire & Rescue in the sad search for the remains of any bodies buried under the rubble.

Afterwards, Jack came to Sari. "Hey, Sari, I think there's something wrong with my processor."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We just worked together, the Fire Department and I, at a collapsed building." His optics looked concerned and unsure of himself. "There was – there was a Day Care center next door where the roof had fallen in. They told me that some of the kids didn't get out in time. I scanned the wreckage, and…and I found, I found this little girl's body in a closet. I guess she ran in there. She must've suffocated."

"Oh, how awful!"

"I helped the Firemen dig her out, and I saw the looks on the men and the bystanders as her body was being carried to the Medical Examiner's van. Everyone was so upset. But, but while I was feeling sad, I wasn't as distraught as they were. I mean, even the Firemen were crying! Something's wrong with me, Sari! Why am I not that upset?" Jack was very worried!

"Jack, you're in 'bot' mode right now. You're describing human emotions. Autobots have emotions, yes, but they're not as sharp or acute as humans. While you're in 'bot' mode, your emotions are Autobot emotions, and may seem more stunted than you're used to. Believe me, I know! I've gone through what you're feeling."

"It's something that we Technorganics have to cope with. You have to learn to balance your human side with your bot side, and being aware of the difference is half the battle."

"Come with me." And she led Jack to a remote spot where there wasn't anyone around.

Sari transformed into 'human' mode. "Now, you also. Transform."

Jack transformed into 'human' mode. Instantly, his human feelings, awakened and united with his processor memories, flooded through his body. He became racked with human emotional pain for that poor little dead girl, and he fell on his knees, sobbing. Tears came down his cheeks. "She was…she was wearing a little yellow polka-dot dress!" he cried. "She died all alone!"

Sari put her arms around him. "Let it all out, Jack, let it all out." She started crying with him.

* * *

The following week the kids were back at school. Some of the classes had to be held in trailers while repairs were being made. A certain bully showed up.

"Vince! Where've you been!" asked Sierra.

"Hey, got to spend some time down in Vegas with my Dad!" he bragged. "You miss me?"

"Maybe," she flirted.

"So, what the heck happened to this place, anyway?" He took a sip of his cola.

"Like, don't you ever watch the news?! Some insane flying robot trashed the town! We had to live in these nasty tents! It was sooo gross!"

"Flying robot? For real?"

"Yah! Geez, Vince! What'd you do all that time in Vegas, anyway?"

"Hey, babe, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, y'know what I mean?" he winked.

Sierra rolled her eyes. Just then, Raf came around a corner. He saw Vince, and rapidly did a 180.

"Hey, if it isn't the little pipsqueak!" called Vince. "Where ya goin'? Don't ya wanna give me a hero's welcome?" He followed after Raf.

"C'mere, Raffie old boy! Don't be shy!" He ran up to Raf and reaching down, knocked his books out of his arm. "Ooopsie! You dropped your books!" he laughed.

Miko ran up and got in Vince's face. "Get away from him Vince!" she yelled. Turning, she bent down to help Raf pick up his books.

"Oh? And what 'cha gonna do about it, Nagasaki? Drop an 'A' bomb on me?" He bumped into her, knocking her over.

"Leave them alone, Vince!"

The bully spun around. Jack was behind him.

"Oh! If it isn't the skinny boy! What're you gonna do? Huh? Cook me a bad KO burger?" He laughed in his face.

"Hey Jack! Think fast!" He threw his soda can quickly in Jack's face. Jack, with his Cybertronian speed, reached down and grabbed a tray that was lying to his right, picked it up, and held it before him. The entire motion was almost too fast for the eye to see. The can bounced off the tray and flew back into Vince's face, spilling its contents all over his shirt.

"What the…?" Vince sputtered. "You asked for it, jerk!" And Vince threw a quick right punch. Jack dodged the punch and grabbed Vince's wrist with his right hand, pulling it down, yanking Vince to his right side. The bully was thrown completely off balance, and wound up stumbling around and falling into the doorway of the teacher's lounge where he crashed into the Principal, knocking her down. She had been carrying her lunch tray, which flew all over her, Vince, and several other teachers.

"Vince! What the heck are you doing!" yelled Principal Johnson. "My dress!" yelled another teacher, covered in soup. The whole room erupted in pandemonium.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I…I slipped on something!" said Vince. Embarrassed, he ran out of the room.

Jack meanwhile had started to bend down to see how Raf and Miko were.

"Jack, watch out!" Miko yelled. She saw Vince running towards Jack, ready to jump him from behind. Jack instantly got up, spun around, and placed his palm in Vince's chest, pushing him back, making him fall flat on his butt.

Jack pointed at Vince. "Get out of here, Vince!"

Shocked, Vince got up, rubbing his backside. He pointed at Jack. "This ain't over, skinny boy! You and me, after school! And if you try running, or riding on that bike of yours, I'll come after you!" and he stormed off.

Jack went back to Raf and Miko. "You guys OK?"

Raf held onto his books. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That was totally wicked!" said Miko. "But you should've laid it into him!"

"No," said Jack. "I'm not going to fight him. Not until I can better learn how to hold back."

"What are you going to do?" asked Raf, worried. "You heard him; he'll be waiting for you after school."

"I'm not sure, but I'm about to get some advice."

During a break between classes, Jack transformed into "bot" mode and got on his comm. "Sari?"

"Yes, Jack, what's up?"

"I need your help. Got into a little altercation this morning with Vince. He attacked Raf and Miko. I didn't fight him, but pushed him away. Now he's going to wait for me after school's out and start a fight. I'm worried."

"You can't fight him! You don't have enough training to know how to hold back. You could kill him."

"What do I do?"

"Tell him you won't fight him. If he punches, try dodging, or grabbing his wrist and pulling away. One time when I had to end an attack, I grabbed the attacker's wrist and belt buckle and threw him over my head. That stopped him."

"You mind meeting me after school? Just to be here. I don't want Miko and Raf getting hurt."

"Sure, I'll be outside when you guys leave." And they ended the comm. Jack transformed back and went to his next class.

* * *

The final bell rang, and Jack, Miko and Raf left the school exit. Sari was outside waiting. As soon as Jack came down the steps, Vince called him out.

"Darby! Time to meet your maker!"

"I'm not going to fight you, Vince."

"Oh, you're going to fight, alright," he said, as he walked up to Jack.

"Miko, Raf, go over there by Sari," he told the two. Vince came up and got up in Jack's face. "You ruined my favorite shirt and embarrassed the hell outa me, jerk! Now you're gonna pay!" and wound up to deliver a powerful right punch to Jack's face. Jack's reflexes managed to completely dodge the hit, and Vince was knocked off balance as his arm punched nothing but air!

"I said, I won't fight you."

"You're nothing but a yellow-bellied coward!" And threw a left jab at Jack's middle. Jack grabbed Vince's fist and threw it to the side, causing Vince to fall onto the grass.

"You're doing good, Jack," thought Sari.

Enraged, Vince jumped up and planned to throw an upper cut down on Jack's face, but Jack grabbed Vince's arm with his right hand and his belt buckle with his left hand and picked him up over his head. "What the…?" said Vince as he hung there in the air over Jack. By now several students were around the two watching. "What's going on?" "Is that Jack Darby? Did he actually pick Vince up? Vince's got like what, 20 pounds on him!" "He's holding him up in the air!" The clicking of cell phones were going like crazy as photo after photo was being taken of this spectacle.

Jack held Vince up over his head and shook him, while yelling in his face "Do you hear me? I. Am. Not. Going. To. Fight. You!" He then dropped him onto the ground. Vince landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

Jack bent down, and put his finger in Vince's face. "I suggest you stay away from me!" and walked toward Sari and the kids.

"Way to go, Jack!" yelled Miko.

"Nice job!" said Sari.

"Thanks, Jack," said Raf. And the four walked away. Vince got up from the hard landing, wondering what the heck just happened. "You'll be sorry, Darby!" he muttered to himself. Sierra went to Vince. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," he said. "Wanna go for a ride?"

* * *

Jack, Sari, Miko and Raf were walking home, when suddenly they heard the sound of Vince's car in the distance. Raf turned around and looked. "He's coming after us!" he yelled. "I think he wants to ram us!" said Miko.

"Sari, you protect these two," said Jack. "I'll deal with Vince." And Sari took Miko and Raf aside. Jack stood in the middle of the road, facing the oncoming speeding car.

"Stay right there, Darby," snickered Vince, "and be road kill."

"Vince, are you crazy?!" yelled Sierra.

Jack waited until Vince was within striking distance, and he then transformed into "bot" mode.

"What the…?" said Vince.

Jack lifted his servo and aimed his palm at Vince's car. He fired off an orb. A small one – not big enough to do any severe damage, but enough to bounce off the hood and windshield and leave scorch marks.

"Aaah! Yelled Vince, as he saw the blue orb headed at his car. Sierra screamed! Vince slammed on the brakes as the car screeched to a halt. The glowing orb struck the hood, burned a black scorch mark, then hit the windshield and bounced up and over, landing on the road behind, where it rolled away.

Jack walked up to Vince, who had a death grip on his steering wheel. "Who…what are you?" he asked, eyes wide open.

Jack transformed just his head, leaving his Cybertronian chassis visible. "I told you to stay away from me." Jack walked to the front bumper, reached down and with one arm, lifted the car up. He pointed at the car with his free servo. "You like this car, Vince?"

"Uh huh…" he said weakly.

"If I catch you bothering Raf or Miko again, I'm going to pick it up and place it on the school rooftop." He put the car back down.

"How you gonna do that?" Vince asked.

Jack powered up his plasma jets and hovered over Vince's head. Vince felt the heat from his jets. "It won't be hard."

"Now get out of here before I decide to wreck your car!" he yelled. And Vince quickly put his car into reverse and sped away. He yelled at Sierra. "Dammit! Why didn't you tell me Darby was a robot!"

Jack came back down and walked over to Sari, Miko and Raf. "How was that?" he asked Sari.

"Looked good to me," she said. "But I hope you don't have to put his car on the school roof. And don't wreck his car!"

Jack laughed. "I just threw that in for emphasis."

* * *

Meanwhile on the Nemesis, Starscream hurried in to Megatron's throne room with Soundwave in tow. "Master! Kālī is gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

Starscream turned to Soundwave. He played back video that Laserbeak had captured. It showed the final battle between Kālī and Sari.

"Kālī tried to ram Sari, and then she tossed an orb at her," said Starscream.

"I can see that, Starscream," said Megatron. They watched as Kālī's body was swallowed up by the disc and shrunken, until the disc disappeared.

"So, it appears that Kālī was no match for this Sari Technorganic after all," opined Megatron. "We are back where we started!"

"Unless," said Starscream, "we had two Technorganic clones instead of just one!"

"Or more. Do we have enough CNA?"

"Not enough, my Lord," said Shockwave. "We would need to collect more."

"And I assume this Sari creature would be even more vigilant, and watchful for the presence of your collection agent, Shockwave," said Megatron.

"More than likely, my Liege," said Starscream. "However, I just became aware of the fact that we do have other opportunities."

"Oh?"

"It appears that Soundwave has learned of the existence of another potential source of Technorganic CNA. One much less…skilled."

Megatron thought for a moment. "Tell me something, Starscream. If this new source is as unskilled as you say, then why bother sneaking around, trying to collect its CNA, when we can simply engineer an acquisition, and thereby acquit ourselves of a never ending supply?"

"Oh!" Starscream chuckled. "Of course!"

**The Decepticons are plotting to create additional Technorganics, and their strategy calls for the acquisition of a certain new member of that Cybertronian class, who would not be as able to defend himself! Capturing and imprisoning Jack would provide them with an endless supply of CNA, which would let them churn out Technorganic clones by the thousands! Not to mention the fact that Jack would be a guinea pig for Scalpel's experimentation!**

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Saturday morning, a few days after the incident with Vince.**

June and the kids were at Outpost Omega One. Miko was telling everyone about how Jack had dealt with the bully Vince.

"It was totally awesome! He picked up Vince's car – with one arm! - and said [imitating Jack's voice, but deep like Robocop] 'You like your car, Vince?' to which Vince replied [imitating a little girly voice] 'Uh huh', and then Jack said 'If'n I catch you EVER bothering Raf or Miko AGAIN, I'm gonna take your car and throw it up on top of the school!"

Jack was off to the side, talking with Arcee and Sari about his training schedule, and overheard Miko telling her version of the events. "Miko, that's not what I said."

Miko waved him off. "Yeah yeah, well, close enough. Anyway, Vince high tailed it out of there, and he hasn't bothered us since!"

"Jack didn't threaten any violence," said Sari, "but he did say he would put Vince's car on the school roof – not throw it. Luckily, that hasn't been necessary. I think Vince learned his lesson."

Sari approached June about a mission she and Optimus had discussed. "I'd like to bring Jack with me to meet a friend of mine. I can combine it with some training, but I wanted to talk with you about it first."

"Of course, Sari! Let's go discuss it."

Afterwards, Sari came up to Jack. "Hey! You ready for a mission – slash – training trip?"

"Sure! Out in the desert?"

"Well, the desert, yes, but not Nevada. I was thinking instead of…Australia."

"Oh! Groundbridge?"

"No. Fly."

"What?! But, that'll take, what, like half a day just to get there, and then half a day to get back? And, I've got school on Monday!"

Sari laughed. "Half a day? No, not the way we're going."

Ratchet called over to Sari. "Just got word from Agent Fowler. You and Jack are cleared for your flight."

"Great! Thanks!"

She powered up her plasma jets. "Transform and follow me!" Jack transformed and powered up.

"Have a good mission, Jack," said Arcee, smiling.

"Thanks, partner!" he waved.

"Be careful, Jack!" said June.

"Will do, Mom!" and the two flew out of the compound.

Sari climbed into the sky, with Jack following her. "C'mon, Jack, keep up!"

She kept going higher and higher.

"Uh, Sari, your chassis is starting to ice up."

She looked back. "So's yours!" she smiled. "Don't' worry about it."

He looked around, and started seeing the curvature of the earth. "Exactly how high are we going?"

"Well, we're leaving the troposphere, and entering the stratosphere," she explained.

"Stra…stratosphere?"

"We're at about 40km right now. In about another 20km we should be hitting the mesosphere."

"Uh, Sari, we're in…space?"

"Just about."

"And…we're OK?"

"Well, of course, silly! Just don't transform!"

"No, no!" He looked around at the black sky above him and gave a nervous laugh. "Transform? No ha ha! Why would I do that?!"

They suddenly hit a transition point. Jack's chassis felt like it like a slight "whomp". "What the heck was that?!"

"Oh. That was the stratopause. We just entered the mesosphere. How're you doing?"

"Um, OK, I guess."

"Look down." Jack looked down. The Earth was below him, blue and white. They were now over the Pacific Ocean.

"Oh…wow."

"We should be passing over Hawaii in a few minutes."

"That fast?!"

"We're now flying at over 28,000 km per hour."

"Wha…shouldn't we be burning up from the friction?"

"Not at this altitude. We're now about as high up as the International Space Station, and that's the speed it travels. It orbits the Earth every 92 minutes. Would you like to try that sometime?"

"Well, maybe later. This is pretty cool though!" He was now more relaxed, and started flying around, enjoying himself more. He flipped himself upside-down and came underneath his flight instructor.

"Hey there!" He laughed.

"That's the spirit, Jack! Once when I was in training with Jazz, we went out to the asteroid belt, and I practiced maneuvering around hurtling asteroids."

Ah, look! There's Hawaii," said Sari. "Australia, here we come!"

She continued giving Jack pointers on flying through space as they traveled across the Pacific, and not too long thereafter, they could see the Australian continent coming up on the horizon.

"OK, Jack, now follow my instructions carefully. We need to re-enter the atmosphere in a very specific way."

"Or else?"

"Or else you could bounce off the atmosphere, or worse, wind up becoming some Australian kid's shooting star."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't worry, it's not that difficult. Just follow me." And Sari led Jack in the proper way to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

"OK, first we slow ourselves down, and work our way back to the troposphere, where we can return to normal flying."

"So, how do we do that?"

"You ever watch the Winter Olympics?"

"Yeah."

"Ever see the guys on the luge?"

"You mean, that face-up, feet-first sledding?"

"Yup."

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Nope. Here, I'll be right beside you. Watch me." And Sari positioned herself with her back to the Earth, pedes first, servos forward, and looking ahead, she used her four thrusters to gradually slow herself down from 28,000 km per hour and began a controlled descent. Jack imitated her technique.

"Uh, we're heating up…should I worry?"

"No, our Cybertronian chassis can withstand over 1,000 degrees Celsius, but let's not test that. Keep using your thrusters to slow you down. Notice we're doing S-curves, that also helps.

"Scary as heck, but kinda fun!"

Eventually they descended into the troposphere and were surrounded by blue sky and clouds.

"OK, we made it! Now we can turn around and fly normally." And they started heading toward Ayers Rock.

"OK, so why are we here?"

"I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. He helped me defeat Kālī."

"All the way from here? Wow."

"Distance is not important, Jack. Remember, I was able to communicate with my Sensei across dimensions."

They flew across the outback, and came within a few kilometers of an aboriginal village. "We'll land near those Kurkara trees and transform," Sari told Jack. "The local people are afraid of the 'red eyes' and I don't want to unnecessarily alarm them by our 'bot' approach."

"Red eyes?"

"Their word for Decepticons. They've been around here, and killed several villagers. After we've met with Jarlie, we can transform into 'bot' mode; they'll recognize us as 'blue eyes' – their word for Autobots – and won't be afraid."

Sari and Jack landed under the Kurkara tree and transformed into "human" mode. They walked about a kilometer toward the village, and entered Jarlie's home.

"_Sari! So nice to see you again!"_ Jarlie said in his native Yir-Yoront.

"_Happy to see you too, Jarlie! I wanted you to meet a friend of mine. This is Jack."_

"_Very pleased to meet you, sir,"_ said Jack.

"_Ah! Hello, Jack! Nice to meet another blue eyes!"_

Jack was surprised! _"How...how did you know?"_

Jarlie chuckled. _"Didn't Sari tell you? I can tell, Jack. You have no heart."_

"_Jarlie is a very wise and powerful spiritual leader, Jack. He has lent the blue eyes a hand a couple of times now."_

Jarlie led them out into the village square. _"My friends! You all remember Sari, the blue eyes who has defended us against the metal monsters. She has brought another blue eyes with her, a new one who is learning how to fight. Please welcome them to our village."_ He turned to Sari and Jack. _"It's OK now; you may show them your metal selves."_ And with his permission, they transformed. They saw Sari and Jack's blue optics and were happy to welcome them.

Jack asked Sari, "How did he know I was learning?"

"Jarlie knows a lot of things without having to ask, Jack," she smiled.

Jarlie approached Jack. _"Jack, I have just met you, but,"_ he put his hand on Jack's Spark Chamber and closed his eyes, _"I sense in you a leader and guardian of humans, who can protect them from evil. You remind me very much of the warrigal, a native subspecies of the grey wolf. They play a major role in our myths and legends. There are also stories of warrigal shape-shifters, which I think fits you quite well!"_

He smiled at Jack. _"Train well, my friend, and listen to your partner – and to Sari!"_

"_I will Jarlie. Thank you."_

There followed a village celebration for the two, and Jack and Sari transformed back into "human" mode so they could partake of the food offerings. Afterwards, they got ready to bid goodbye to Jarlie. But before they left, Jarlie seemed concerned. He took Jack's arm and looked into his optics.

"_Jack, beware! I sense great danger for you. Your training has only just begun, but the red eyes are after you."_ He then turned to Sari. _"Sari, I know you intend to return to your world soon, but Jack needs you still. Stay here a little longer and help his partner make him strong."_

"_I will, Jarlie,"_ said Sari. They bid farewell to their friend and headed back to America. On the way, they talked about what Jarlie had told them.

"What did he mean about the Decepticons being after me?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Sari responded, "but Jarlie can see things. We'd better take his warning seriously. When I get back, I want to talk to Jazz."

"I was planning on returning to my world soon with everyone. After Jarlie's warning, I think I should stay. I can help Arcee with your training."

"Are you sure, Sari?"

"Absolutely!"

Jack thought about their new friend. "Interesting name he has, 'Jarlie'. It comes from the word for barn owl."

Sari chuckled. "That language mod is really sinking into your processor!"

"Does his name have any significance?"

"Australian Aboriginal cultures see owls as symbols of wisdom, mystery, secrets and sacred knowledge; messengers from one world to another, and companions of the medicine men."

"Well, I guess that answers my question."

* * *

"Commander Starscream! We have sighted two Autobots!"

"Two Autobots?! I thought I told your squadron to patrol the space above the planet, not on the ground!"

"We are, Commander. These Autobots are flying in space."

"Flying Autobots? What size are they?"

"Very small, Commander. Human-sized."

"You did say two, correct?"

"Affirmative."

Starscream couldn't believe his luck! "Attack! But don't destroy them. I want at least one brought back alive – do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Commander!"

* * *

Sari's Cyber-Ninja sense detected approaching danger. "Jack, we'd better hurry. Something's coming, and it's not good."

Suddenly, a squadron of flying Vehicons fired on them from behind!

Sari put up her mouthplate and turned around to face them. "Jack! Put up your mouthplate and get behind me!" She began blasting them with her orbs. She took out the ones in the front.

As it turned out, Sari was having no problem taking out the Vehicons, and had an idea. "Jack, you want to try your targeting mod?"

"What?! Are you serious?"

"Go for it. Aim your orbs at the Vehicons."

Jack got out from behind Sari. He focused his orbs at the attacking Vehicons. Immediately his targeting mod activated, and it was like he was looking through a long-range scope with cross-hairs. The cross-hairs moved until it settled on a moving Vehicon, and then it signaled by blinking that it was locked in. He raised his servo and fired a powerful orb. A pulsing, blue-white sphere, it formed almost instantaneously in front of his servo, and took off like a beam of light, until it struck the Vehicon, going straight through, blowing it up.

"Good, Jack! Now help me take out all of them."

The Vehicons all separated, attempting to avoid the orb hits. Jack's targeting mod broke into several cross-hairs, one each for four Vehicons flying out away from him and Sari. He blasted all three in seconds, his arms shooting them like machine guns.

"Nice shooting!" said Sari.

* * *

"Commander Starscream! We are being decimated by the flying Autobots! They have…" the squadron leader's comm went silent.

"Come in! Squadron Leader! Come in! I have lost your signal!"

* * *

Sari lowered her mouthplate. "Well, that was the last one, Jack. I'd say that was a successful training session for your targeting mod."

Jack lowered his and sighed. "Yeah, but I'd rather have learned on something less lethal, to be honest, Sari."

"I understand, Jack, but I didn't pick the session," she smiled. "Shall we head on in?" And the two continued on their journey back to Outpost Omega One.

* * *

"Jack had to do what?!" yelled June angrily.

"He and I had to defend ourselves against a Decepticon squadron while we were flying back from Australia. We were ambushed in space," explained Sari. "It certainly wasn't intended, but Jack did extremely well learning how to use his targeting mod. He took out several Decepticons all by himself."

"You did? Good on ya, Jack!" said Bulkhead. He was out of sick bay.

"Yes, I'm sure," said June tersely, "but he's still a trainee!"

"I'm afraid there's more. When we were with my friend Jarlie in the Outback, he gave us a warning. He sensed great danger for Jack; that the Decepticons were going to be after him."

"But why?" June was frightened for her son.

"I'm afraid that by now, they know that Sari has defeated Kālī, and they are looking for a new source of Decepticon CNA," said Jazz. "They calculate that Sari is too powerful a target, and have decided to look for someone less trained. That would logically be Jack."

"So, they want to grab a piece of my tissue, like they did with Sari?" asked Jack.

"Or possibly, grab you, Jack."

June just about fainted! "Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

"June, I understand your concerns," said T:Prime Optimus.

"No, Optimus, I'm sorry, but you don't understand," June interrupted. "He's my son. And the last time I looked, Autobots don't have children."

"Mom, please," said Jack.

"Don't you 'Mom, please', me, Jackson Darby! You are sixteen years old and still my responsibility. There will be no further training sessions of this nature, and that's final!"

"What?! But you can't…" But Sari put her servo on Jack's arm and interrupted him.

"No, Jack, your mother's right." She transformed and approached her. "June, I'm sorry. I had no idea this would happen. Please forgive me."

June, still agitated, looked at her. "I don't blame you Sari. This is all happening way too fast. I need to go home to think this through." She looked at Jack. "Jack, we're going."

Jack was about to say something, but Sari sent him a message in his processor. "Jack, shut up. I mean it!"

"June," she continued with a tone of extreme seriousness, "I think it's safer for Jack if he stays here."

June looked at Sari, at first angrily, but then her expression changed to one of understanding. "Fine. I'll go alone then." She turned to Optimus and pointed. "I want it, on your word, that he will not leave this base under any circumstances!"

"You have my word," he replied.

Jack looked like he was about to explode! He started walking toward June, but Arcee stepped in front of him. "You heard her, partner. We train indoors."

"Fine!" he said angrily, and stormed away down one of the corridors.

She watched her son walking away, and felt a twinge of pain in her heart. A tear came to her eye. She sniffed and looked around at everyone. "Please excuse me," and turned to get in her car.

Sari hesitated; a foreboding suddenly came to her. Just as June was about to close the door, she called out. "June, wait! Please, let me come with you."

"Sari, that's not necessary. I…"

"No, you don't understand. Trust me; I think you need me to be with you." June looked at her strangely, then motioned for Sari to get in. They took off down the tunnel. As they drove back to Jasper, a certain flying Decepticon minion hovered high in the sky.

**Sari senses danger, not for Jack, but for June. Perhaps Jarlie's warning wasn't meant for him alone. **

**BTW, many thanks to LuisJM for bouncing off my ideas for this chapter - and suggesting I include the details about how Sari and Jack return to Earth from space! Had to do a little research on NASA for that one. :-)**

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**June, being the overprotective mother, had a bit of a meltdown at the Autobot's base, and really got Jack upset. Sari, sensing some danger, wanted to ride back with her.**

After leaving Outpost Omega One, Sari and June got on the highway headed back to Jasper. They were quiet for a while. Finally, June broke the silence. She sighed, and said "I guess I made a fool of myself back there."

"No you didn't," replied Sari sympathetically. "You had every right to be upset. I'm the one who should feel foolish. I should have anticipated that attack, and instead, I allowed Jack to be put in danger with that trip."

"But then, on the other hand, if you didn't bring Jack to Jarlie, your friend wouldn't have been able to give him that warning." June shook her head. "Oh! I don't know what to think! I just wish I'd handled that whole scene better."

"Nobody should blame you! You're his mother! If the Autobots don't understand, well, that's their problem, not yours."

June smiled and put her hand on Sari's arm. "Thanks!"

"So, did Jack enjoy the trip?" she asked.

"Oh! You should have seen him, June! When we got above the Earth and were flying in space, he actually let loose! It was amazing; he started flying around and being silly – I had to laugh!"

June did a double-take. "Jack?"

"I know! He's usually so serious, so…reserved. It was wonderful to see him have fun."

"He takes after me…" June caught herself and chuckled. "Well, duh…of course he does!"

They both laughed at that. "It's OK," said Sari, "I'm just like my Dad, too. I love science and research. It's one of the special bonds we have."

June sighed. "I hope Jack doesn't stay mad at me for too long. I know I'm overprotective, but with the way I found him, and with his Dad gone, I just worry so much."

"He'll cool off," Sari replied. "Jack's level-headed, and will come to realize that with the Decepticons out to get him, he needs to stay at the base."

"Oh! But what about school?! How are we going to explain all this come Monday?"

Sari thought for a moment. "Maybe Agent Fowler can help. We can…" Just then, there was an explosion to the right of June's car! She swerved to the left and ran into a ditch. "What was that?!" she yelled.

Sari got out of the car and looked up to see several Vehicon planes attacking. "June! Get out and stay behind me!" she yelled as she transformed and began firing at the planes. She got on her comm. "Ratchet! June and I are under attack from Vehicons! Request immediate assistance!"

"Acknowledged, Sari!" said T:Prime Ratchet. T:Prime Optimus and TFA Optimus both responded to the call. They immediately grabbed both Bumblebees, Jazz, TFA Arcee and TFA Ratchet. T:Prime Ratchet opened up a ground bridge to Sari's location.

"Mom!" Jack heard the communication over Ratchet's console, and started running toward the ground bridge.

"No, Jack," said T:Prime Arcee, getting in his way. "You're to stay here."

Jack screamed at her. "That's my mother in danger – she's all I've got! God damn you!"

The ground bridge was closing. Suddenly, there was a crash from the raised floor. Miko, running to watch all the Autobots leaving, accidentally bumped into her amp, knocking it over. Arcee turned in the direction of the sound, and seeing the opportunity, Jack powered up his plasma boosters and jetted out through the bridge at breakneck speed just as it closed up.

"Jack!" Arcee yelled. "Scrap! I'll kill that kid! Ratchet! Re-open that bridge!" He opened the bridge again and Arcee transformed and sped out after Jack.

* * *

The bridge opened up at the location where Sari and June were. Sari was battling the flying Vehicons, shooting them down as they blasted the ground all around. June was crouched behind her, holding on to Sari's legs. The Autobots transformed and placed themselves ahead of Sari, firing up into the sky at the Decepticons.

"Somebody try and get June back to Outpost Omega One!" Sari yelled. Suddenly, Jack appeared from the ground bridge. He landed beside Sari and bent down to June. "Mom? Are you OK?"

She looked up to him. "Jack? What are you doing here? I told you to stay at the base!"

"What? No! Mom, I had to come – with dad gone you're all I've got!" He looked at Sari. "Go, help everyone else, I'll stay here with my mother." Sari nodded, and went with the others.

Suddenly, another bridge opened up right beside Jack and June. Out stepped Knockout! "Well, well, isn't this sweet; mother and child reunion!" And he reached down to grab them.

"Get away from her, you freak!" yelled Jack, and released his broadsword and Skyboom shield. He stood between June and Knockout. He powered up the plasma jets on his pedes and brought himself up to Knockout's face. "Maybe I'll slice up that pretty face of yours, huh?" Knockout backed away, holding up his servos, "No! No, stay away!"

What Jack was unaware of was the fact that by backing away, Knockout was separating Jack from his mother. At a certain point, another Decepticon, Soundwave, came out of the space bridge and snatched up June. She screamed, and Jack turned to see her being carried off. "Mom, no!" At that moment, Knockout took out his electrical staff and shocked Jack hard, putting him into stasis. He fell down to the ground.

Knockout reached down to pick up Jack, but just as he had him in his arms, Arcee came flying out of the Autobot's ground bridge. She saw Knockout and sped toward him, transforming in mid-air, and aimed her blaster right at him. "Go ahead, make my day – I can think of nothing better than putting a hole right through your pretty face!"

Caught off guard, he said, "Oh, forget it!" and dropped Jack at Arcee's pedes. "Doesn't matter, half a glass is better than none!" and ran into the closing space bridge.

The remaining flying Vehicons all turned and flew away. The Autobots watched this and wondered what happened. It was at that moment that Sari realized that June was gone. She ran to Arcee and June. "What happened?"

Arcee picked Jack up and shook him. "Jack? Jack!" His optics flickered, then lit back up. He came to. "Mom! Mom! Where is she?"

"I don't know," answered Arcee, putting him down. "When I came out of the ground bridge, all I saw was Knockout picking you up."

Coming to his senses, he suddenly realized. "Soundwave! He took her!"

"Soundwave?! Where were you?" Arcee demanded angrily.

"Fighting Knockout!" Then Jack realized that he'd been duped. "He led me away from her. I told Sari to go fight the Vehicons. I thought I could defend my mother. I…I"

Sari put her servo to her mouth. "Oh no!"

"You allowed yourself to be distracted," Arcee told him, optics frowning. "Big rookie mistake! This is why you are not to be involved in battle yet, partner!"

"Oh, Jack!" said Sari.

Jack was horrified! "What do we do?!" he asked.

"We plan a rescue. Now!" said Arcee. She got on her comm. "Ratchet! Ground bridge back to base." All the Autobots transformed into their alt modes and drove back to Outpost Omega One. Sari flew back in. All but Arcee and Jack. They walked back.

* * *

Knockout secured June to an examination table. "Well, well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Last time we met, I think you were in my trunk with another human."

She looked at the Decepticon with a steely glare. "I'll be rescued, you know."

Knockout laughed. "Oh, of that I have no doubt! But not quite yet." He turned and took out his rotary saw. Turning it on, he held it above her. Fear came into her eyes.

"Oh, this?" he laughed. "No, not for you. Got you worried though, didn't I?" He smirked. "Just…testing it out." He put it back down.

"No, my specialty is Cybertronians. I have no interest in," he gave June's arm a slightly painful squeeze with his digits, "…fleshy things. Eeew."

"We have some other plans for you, Mrs. Darby," came a voice from the back. Knockout stepped aside, and Starscream came forward. "Let me see. You are the 'mother', as it were, of a new Technorganic, is that not true?"

"What makes you think I would tell you anything?" she said coldly.

Starscream laughed evilly. "Of course not. And why should I expect it? But then, there isn't a need, is there?" He turned to yet another Decepticon, one with no face. This one played back a recording taken by his minion Laserbeak, only days ago when he was flying over Jasper:

_"When we were first married, we tried having children, but I was barren. It was a cause of friction between your...your father and me. Then, one day, we went camping out in the high desert near the Shoshone Range. I got up in the middle of the night to look at the stars, and saw what I assumed was a meteor. But then, suddenly, this glowing pod appeared right in front of me! I went to get closer, and it opened. Inside was a tiny little being made of liquid silver. I can't tell you why I did it, but something made me reach out and touch it. I immediately got a huge shock in my arm, and I fell backwards, unconscious."_

_"I came to, and heard the sound of a baby crying. I got up, and inside the capsule, the little silvery being was replaced by you."_

"I believe that was you, June," said Starscream, "revealing the truth to your…supposed son, Jack?"

"You…bastard!"

Starscream snickered, and got closer to her. "Oh! I'm the bastard? Or is it not Jack?"

She spit in his face!

"Aaargh!" he yelled, wiping his face. "Enough! You'll think differently after you see what we have planned!" And he stormed out of Knockout's lab.

* * *

Everyone came back to Outpost Omega One and transformed into bipedal mode. Sari landed and walked silently with the others. Jack came in last, walking slowly beside T:Prime Arcee.

"What happened?" yelled Miko from the raised floor.

"Not now, Miko," said TFA Arcee.

Jack walked alone down a corridor, his helm down low. He transferred into "human" mode. When he was out of sight, crying could be heard.

Miko looked back and forth for signs. "This blows! Won't anyone say something?"

T:Prime Arcee walked up to Miko and pointed a digit in her face. "I suggest you shut your mouth right now, or I will personally escort you out of here!" She then went up to the two Primes. "We need a rescue plan. June's been captured by the Cons."

"What?!" said T:Prime Ratchet, overhearing. "How did it happen?"

"When Jack disobeyed orders and flew out through the ground bridge, he ran up to his mother. He told Sari to leave June and go fight the flying Vehicons; he would stay with her. While the two were alone, Knockout appeared. Jack took on Knockout, but in his inexperience, he allowed himself to be distracted, and during the fight Soundwave came out of the space bridge and snatched June."

"Knockout zapped Jack with his electrical staff, and would have taken him as well, if I hadn't shown up."

"Let us get together and plan a rescue," said T:Prime Optimus.

"Did you hear that? The Cons have Jack's Mom!" said Miko to Raf."

"Poor Jack! He must feel terrible!" said Raf, looking down at his shoes. "I don't know what I would do if they took my Mama!"

"I'm gonna go talk to him," said Miko.

"Don't you dare!" said Raf, stepping in front of her. "You leave him alone!"

* * *

"Well, if it isn't the mother of yet another of those little Technorganics," said Megatron, looking down at June.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Oh, it's not what I want, my dear," he chuckled, "it's what my specialist would like to do. Doctor?"

A diminutive, spider-like Decepticon with huge optics crawled up onto June's body and looked down at her. He poked her. "Ooh ya, ya! Nice fleshy body! Good experimentation!" The tiny servos at the end of his spindly arms transformed into medical instruments. June's eyes opened wide. "No! No, please!"

"Enjoy yourself, Doctor," said Megatron, walking out of the laboratory. "Let me know when you're done." And as the doors closed behind him, he could hear June's screams.

Megatron betrayed an evil smile. "Music to my audio receptors!" he said to himself.

**Another great collaboration with LuisJM! Wasn't sure how to handle this abduction, but he had the idea of the fight between Jack and Knockout and the Soundwave snatch. And Megatron's final line!**

**So what's going to happen to June? Will the Autobots get there in time? **

**We shall see! Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The Autobots are planning to rescue June! But will the crew of the Nemesis be surprised?**

**(thanks to LuisJM for some last-minute suggestions)**

"Starscream, has Soundwave made the arrangements to allow our friends to perform their rescue?"

"Yes, my lord, he has temporarily removed the cloaking device. They will be able to bridge to the ship."

* * *

The rescue team consisted of Sari, Jazz, T:Prime Arcee, both Bulkheads, both Bumblebees, T:Prime Ratchet, and both Optimus Primes.

"We bridge to the Nemesis," said T:Prime Optimus, and search for June. Sari, you are familiar with June's particular EEG and EKG signature, so you can help the rescue crew locate her. Jazz, you and Sari work together; your Cyber-Ninja skills may be needed to disable the ship's systems."

"Each one of you has been uploaded with the ship's maps and schematics. We bridge to the level near Knockout's lab."

"Autobots, roll out!" And T:Prime Ratchet opened the space bridge as the Autobots transformed and entered. Sari flew in.

Jack, in "human" mode, walked up to the raised level and stood at the railing, watching them prepare to leave. His face was wrenched in pain. Raf came up and put an arm around his friend's back.

"Jack! You should go!" said Miko.

"No," he replied, his voice breaking. "I...I've done enough damage as it is." A tear came to his eye. "I'm not worthy to be a member of Team Prime."

"Dude, that's your mother!"

"You just don't get it, do you!" he spat back at her. "It's my fault she's up there! I'm a God damned screw up! I'd just make things worse!" He walked away.

"Jack!" said Raf.

"Shut up and leave me alone!"

* * *

"Doctor, I have created the parts you need," said Shockwave.

"Ah, good, good! Set them right here, next to my patient. I will need them attached very shortly."

Starscream approached the operating table. "Eeew!" he grimaced. "Do organics always spew that much red fluid?"

"Oh, ya ya! All the time! But she won't need that much when we're done!" he laughed. He turned back to Shockwave. "The processor! When vill it be ready?"

"Very soon, Doctor," he replied.

"Good! Because you know, these organics, their synapses, and brain tissues, once you sever the cord, they don't last very long. There is much to download."

"Wait a minute! You mean, she retains her memories?" asked Starscream.

"Ya! She still needs those to function properly, of course! But don't worry; the programming I put in will take precedence!"

"You'd better be right, Scalpel! We promised Megatron she would be a loyal servant!"

Scalpel looked up at Starscream through his huge optics. "You doubt my programming? Of course! Nothing overcomes my programming, no! Nothing!"

* * *

The Autobots arrived on the Nemesis. "Alright," said T:Prime Optimus, "we are outside Knockout's lab. "Bulkhead, can you open the door?"

"With pleasure!" And he pulled the door apart. Arcee ran inside first, weapons drawn at Knockout. "Where's June?" she asked.

Knockout held his servos up. "Don't shoot!" he yelled. "Oh, you mean the human? She's not here! I don't deal in organics, silly! I was just the delivery boy!"

"Where is she?" Arcee demanded.

"Oh, now, I think if you ask your Technorganic friend there, she'll tell you I'm not very good with directions," Knockout smirked.

Sari thought. "She's not on this level. Her heart beat and brain activity's down several floors."

"Oh? You can sense that, can you? Well you all had better be on your way; keep listening for those – while they last!" he laughed.

"What are they doing to her?" asked T:Prime Optimus.

"Go see for yourself! Now leave me alone!" They ran out of his examination room and headed down several levels. Knockout got on his comm to Scalpel's lab "Oh, Doctor…some visitors headed your way!"

Scalpel looked at Starscream. "Keep them out! I'm almost finished, but I need a little more time – give them something to do!" Starscream got on his comm, and dispatched several Vehicon troops to guard the door to the operating room.

Sari and the Autobots arrived on the floor containing Scalpel's operating room and were ambushed by the Vehicons. "Take cover!" yelled the Primes, as the firefight took place.

"Sensei, I'm losing her!" yelled Sari, as she detected June's EKG failing.

* * *

"Oooh, look at that thing flutter!" said Starscream.

"Feh! She doesn't need it anymore!" said Scalpel, throwing June's heart onto the floor. Here's her Spark!" as he inserted it into her chest. He looked over at Shockwave. "How's the processor download coming?"

"Nearly complete, Doctor," said Shockwave.

"Good, good! Let me know when it's done so I can sever this spinal cord!"

* * *

The fierce battle continued as more Vehicons joined in. "This must be where she's being kept," said TFA Optimus, "or they wouldn't be fighting back so hard."

"No!" cried Sari, "her brain waves have stopped!"

"You mean, she's…" asked Jazz.

"I fear it may be so."

* * *

"There! We're done!" said Scalpel.

"Is she ready to meet her former friends?" smirked Starscream.

Scalpel looked up at Shockwave. "Let's awaken her!" And Shockwave turned to his control panel. He set the power controls to start the Spark Chamber, and pressed the button. A surge went through June's cyborg body. She convulsed, and began the awakening process.

"Processor booting up," said Shockwave. "Spark chamber normal; organic functions normal; cybertronic systems normal; weapons online; backup systems powering up."

June opened her right eye and her left red optic. The right side of her head was normal as before, but the right half was gray metallic, with an audio receptor where there had been an ear. Her arms and legs were thick and covered in armor, and Cybertronian plating covered her torso, with a glowing circular cover for her Spark Chamber.

"Arise, my child," said Starscream. "What is your name?"

"I am June, Commander Starscream." She got up, and her head turned to look at him.

"And who is your master?"

"Megatron."

Scream smiled. "There are some Autobots battling our Vehicons just outside. I need you to fight them."

"Yes, Commander." And she jumped off the operating table and headed out the door.

"Good job, you two," said Starscream. He got on his comm. "Master, Scalpel and Shockwave are done."

"Excellent! Proceed with our plan."

Starscream contacted the Vehicon leader. "We're done in here. You can call off the firefight."

* * *

No sooner did the fight start, when it suddenly ended. The Cons left the scene.

"What's going on?" asked T:Prime Bulkhead. Then, the door opened, and a small figure walked out and approached them.

**("Wait, who is that?")** said T:Prime Bumblebee.

The strange figure raised her right arm, and a blaster weapon formed. She aimed it at the first figure in her sights, which was TFA Bulkhead.

"Take cover!" yelled Sari, and running in front, she opened her Skyboom Shield big enough to protect Bulkhead, just as the blast came out of June's weapon. The figure kept firing at them.

Arcee crouched down and got ready to fire back.

"Wait, don't shoot!" yelled Sari. "That's June!"

"What?!"

"Oh, dear Primus!" said TFA Ratchet, "what did they do to her?"

Cyborg June then closed up her blaster and replaced her right servo with an energy scythe. She jumped up in the air and headed toward T:Prime Bumblebee, slashing the scythe as she twirled around screaming.

T:Prime Bulkhead struck her on the side with one of his wrecking balls, knocking her away. She landed on the wall with her pedes, and retracting her scythe, she jumped off and headed toward him. "You want to play, big boy?" and turning midair, she kicked him in the jaw. "Ooof!" went the Wrecker, falling on his skidplate.

She opened her palms and shot red orbs at the rescue squad. One orb hit TFA Bumblebee in the shoulder, knocking him down and leaving a hole. "Damn!" he shouted.

"I've had enough of this!" Yelled Ratchet. He came forward and used his EMP generator, hitting her in the Spark Chamber, knocking her out and causing her to go into deep stasis. She fell unconscious onto the floor.

"Bumblebee, pick her up," said T:Prime Optimus to T:Prime Bumblebee. He got on his comm. "Ratchet, bridge us out." And they got into the bridge and left the Nemesis.

Starscream left the lab and watched the Autobots leave. He chuckled. "Ta ta! Hope to see you soon!" He got on his comm. "Lord Megatron, they've taken the bait."

* * *

The rescue team entered Outpost Omega One, carrying cyborg June. Jack, waiting near the bridge tunnel, ran up to them. "Did you rescue my Mom?"

"We did, Jack," said T:Prime Optimus.

"Where is she?" Carrying her, in the back was T:Prime Bumblebee. Jack ran to him. As soon as he saw her however, he fell back in horror. "Oh my God! What did they do to her?!"

"Nothing good," said TFA Ratchet.

He looked at her prone figure. "Is she…dead?"

"No, she's in stasis," the old bot replied.

"Stasis? Stasis?! How?"

He turned around and explained: "Jack, your mother's been turned into a Decepticon cyborg. She's in stasis because she attacked us and I had to use my EMP generator on her."

Jack put his hand to his mouth and bit his knuckle. "Oh, God, oh God, this is all my fault!" He held one of cyborg June's servos. "Mom, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" He sobbed.

Ratchet took cyborg June from Bumblebee's arms and started to carry her to the infirmary, but Jazz came up to him. "There's a problem," he said.

"You mean besides the fact that Jack's mother is no longer human?"

"Yes. I am detecting a tracking device in her. I think the Decepticons are using her as a homing signal, to find this station."

T:Prime Optimus turned around. "Then we've got to get her out of here immediately."

"I have an idea," said TFA Optimus. "Let me take her to my dimension. Her homing signal won't work there."

"Let's make it so, but hurry." And T:Prime Ratchet and Raf began firing up the bridge. TFA Optimus got in contact with Sandstorm at the other end, and he prepared the bridge at the roof of Sumdac Tower. TFA Optimus transformed into his truck and they placed cyborg June in it. Jazz and TFA Ratchet transformed into their alt modes to accompany Optimus.

"Everything's ready," said T:Prime Ratchet, and the three sped into the bridge.

* * *

On the Nemesis, Starscream was with Soundwave. "So, the homing device is working?" Soundwave nodded. "Good, good! Then our little pigeon can guide us to the location of the Autobot base! Send Laserbeak out to start tracking the signal." And Soundwave dispatched his minion to follow cyborg June's beacon. They watched as Laserbeak began going toward the location of the beep. He drew closer, and was nearing the point at which they were going to finally locate Autobot Outpost Omega One, when, suddenly, the signal disappeared!

"What?! What happened? Where is the signal?"

Soundwave looked at his monitor, and pressed some keys. "Signal Lost" came the message in Cybertronian on the screen. He turned to Starscream and shook his head.

"Aaargh! They must have found the device and disabled it! No matter. I'd like to see the look on her son's face when he gets to see his mother," he chuckled.

* * *

On top of Sumdac Tower, Optimus, Jazz and Ratchet arrived. Ratchet took cyborg June out of the truck and Optimus transformed into bipedal mode. "Get her to Autobot Central and put stasis cuffs on her before she awakens," he told Ratchet, "then bring her to sick bay. See if there's any way we can bring the old June back."

Once at Autobot Base, Ratchet put the cuffs on her, secured her ankles and laid her on an examination table in his sick bay. While she was still unconscious, he gave her an examination. "This is sickening, what they did to her," he muttered. "No heart, no brain, nothing left in the limbs except her skeletal structure, but with the armor supporting it, she's just about as strong as Sari. They replaced her left eye with a Cybertronian optic. Slaggin' bunch of Deceptlslime butchers! How much of June is still in here?"

While he was still examining her, she awakened. She glared at him. "Autobot scum! Release me at once!"

"Nice to see you, too!" He replied. "Now, let's see what kinds of mods they stuck in you." He turned to check the settings on his scanning device. While his back was to her, she used a heat ray mod in her optic to burn off one of the retaining brackets from the shelf holding heavy equipment, causing it to fall on him and knock him down. She then used the ray on her stasis cuffs and ankle retainers.

Cyborg June jumped off the table as Ratchet tried to get up. She kicked him in the helm, knocking him out. "Stupid old bot!" she yelled at him, and ran down the corridor looking for the exit.

Minutes later, Jazz found Ratchet on the floor. He knelt down and took off the fallen equipment. "What happened?"

The old bot groaned from the pain. "I'm an idiot!" he replied. "Turned my back on her. She must've used some kinda ray on that shelf over there, causing it to tilt and all the equipment came crashing down on me. She then kicked me in the head real good."

"She's escaped!" He got on his comm. "Prime! June's escaped Autobot Central!"

Ratchet tried to get up, but stumbled. "Ooh, my head!"

Jazz checked him. "Your helm is cracked; you're leaking Energon. You'd better lie down." He got back on his comm. "Ratchet's injured!"

* * *

Meanwhile, cyborg June wandered the streets of Detroit. She kept trying to hail Starscream and the Nemesis. "Commander! I've escaped the Autobots! Request a space bridge back to the Nemesis!"

"Why don't they copy?" People seeing her screamed and ran. "That's right, humans! Run! I'll destroy your city!" And releasing her blaster, she began blowing up store fronts.

Optimus got an emergency call from the Detroit mayor's office. "There's someone or something terrorizing the city! Captain Fanzone's forces are no match for her!"

"June!" He realized. With only Jazz, and Ratchet injured, he had to contact Team Prime for help.

* * *

The comm at Outpost Omega One crackled. "This is Optimus. June has escaped and is terrorizing Detroit. I need assistance!"

"Acknowledged, Optimus," said T:Prime Optimus. "Sending reinforcements."

"What will you do?" Asked Jack.

"Defeat her, and if necessary, take her out."

"No!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry, Jack, but she is now a dangerous Decepticon, bent on destruction."

"Let me talk to her first. Maybe I can still find some spark of my mother."

"Jack, that could be suicidal," said T:Prime Arcee. "You're not trained to defend yourself. She could just as easily kill you."

"I won't fight her. If she kills me, then that just means my mother died on the operating table."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Arcee.

"Yes."

"Very well, Jack," said Optimus. "Prepare to transport." And Jack transformed into "bot" mode and got ready to fly into the bridge tunnel with Sari and the other Autobots.

* * *

Cyborg June fought Captain Fanzone's police. He got out his bullhorn. "Hit that thing with everything you've got!" And they proceeded to fire a fusillade of rifles, side arms, grenade launchers, and SWAT truck cannons. She opened her Skyboom Shield and covered herself from the attack.

She fired her red orbs at their weapons, taking them all out. "You stupid humans! You think you can defeat the Decepticon armada?" And for good measure, she turned and blew up a small yellow automobile parked nearby.

"Dammit!" yelled Fanzone, throwing down his bullhorn. "I just made the last payment on that car!"

Jack, Sari and the Autobots arrived on the scene.

"Let me go talk to her," said Jack.

"Good luck," said Sari. And Jack transformed into "human" mode.

"Jack! What are you doing?!" said T:Prime Arcee. "She'll kill you for sure!"

"I have to spark some memory in her. This is the only way," he replied.

He looked at his partner and both Primes. "Stay here. No matter what she does to me, do not interfere!" And he walked over to where cyborg June was standing.

"Stop right there human!"

"Mom, it's me, Jack. I want to talk to you."

"You want to talk?" she laughed. "Sure! Come closer."

Jack walked toward her. "Remember, when I was five? And I ran down the gravel driveway and fell? I cut my knee really bad! I cried and cried. You ran to me and picked me up. You kissed my knee and hugged me. You gave me your love. I never forgot that, Mom. Do you remember?" He walked right up to her and looked in her eye.

She smiled. "I remember, Jack! It's in my processor! She then back-handed him in the face, knocking him across the street! "You know what, Jack! I don't give a damn!"

Jack got up. His mouth was bleeding. He walked up to her again. "You remember, when I was nine, and I came running home from school with all 'A's on my report card? You were so proud of me, Mom! You hugged me and called me your 'little Einstein'. You and I went to the Ice Cream parlor that day to celebrate! Do you remember?"

"I remember that, too!" And she punched him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain! He coughed up blood. He straightened up.

"Do you remember the day, when I was 10, and Dad left? I ran down the street, chasing after his car, crying, asking him to please come back!" Tears came down Jack's face. "You...you caught up to me, and hugged me, and told me everything's gonna be OK, that the two of us would be a family no matter what! You said you'd never leave me! Do you remember that?"

Cyborg June looked at him strangely. "Of course I remember these things! They're in my processor! Are you stupid?" And she kicked him, sending him flying down the street. He landed hard, bleeding from his head. He was bruised, with cuts to his hands, arms, mouth, and face. She walked toward him and took out her blaster. Smirking, she aimed it right at him. "Goodbye, Jack!"

Jack, defeated, looked up at the glowing blaster aimed at him. He turned and looked into cyborg June's face and held up his bloody hand "No! Please! Don't! Mommy, no!"

Suddenly, a change came over her face. A spark of recognition. She frowned. "Jack?"

She shook her head and fell to her knees. The blaster reverted. Her servos grabbed her head as she started shaking back and forth, yelling "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!" Finally, she looked up to the sky and screamed, a piercing, loud, frightening scream! Then she collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Jazz came over and picked her up. He turned to the two Primes. "Contact the other Ratchet. Have Professor Sumdac work the bridge at their end. We need to have June examined."

**June will be examined, and hopefully purged of all her Decepticon programming. Thanks to Jack, they were both saved.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Cyborg June is back at Outpost Omega One's sick bay, being examined after her confrontation with Jack. And of course, she's not the only one needing medical attention.**

T:Prime Ratchet arrived from Outpost Omega One and examined cyborg June in the Autobot Central sick bay. TFA Ratchet was lying nearby, recovering from his kick to the helm.

Sari had brought Jack to the Detroit Medical Center ER; they were familiar with Technorganics, having treated Sari in the past. "Jack will be OK," said Dr. Atwood. "As I recall from examining you, Sari, Technorganics heal extremely fast. I treated his injuries and although he looks pretty awful, he can be discharged."

"Thank you Doctor," she smiled, and shook his hand. She went to Jack's gurney. Dr. Atwood was right! Jack looked like he'd been run over by a truck! "Oh, yikes! Jack, you look awful!"

"That's about how I feel," he moaned, getting up. "My Mom really laid it into me, huh?"

"Oh, man, I can't tell you how hard it was for me, watching you get beaten up! All of us stood there; but we obeyed your request. And you did it, Jack! You brought back that spark – your Mom's love of you overcame the Decepticon programming!"

"But how is she?"

"I don't know. Let's get to Autobot Central and find out. Hey! Once you transform, you'll feel much better!" she smiled. And leaving the hospital, they transformed into "bot" mode. "Oh, yeah!" he said. "No more pain!"

"No, not until you transform back, of course. Now let's go!" And they powered up their plasma boosters and flew to the Autobot headquarters. Landing, they went straight to sick bay.

"It's not good," said T:Prime Ratchet, examining her. Her processor has fallen into a fugue state."

"What does that mean?" asked Jack.

"The closest thing in human terms," explained Sari, "would be to say that your Mom has gone into a coma."

"Is there anything you can do for her, Ratchet?" he asked.

"I'm afraid we don't have the capabilities here," said TFA Ratchet from his sick bay bed. "The only place that could treat her would be the Infirmary on Cybertron."

"Can we go there?" Jack asked.

"I don't see why not," said TFA Optimus. "Jazz, contact Perceptor, and let him know we have a patient on the way. I'll carry June in my truck."

"In the meantime," quipped T:Prime Ratchet, turning to TFA Ratchet, "let me have a look at that new hole in your head." And he set about making repairs.

"Appreciate it!" said the old bot. "I've got enough holes as it is," he joked.

* * *

At the Infirmary on Cybertron, Perceptor and Wheeljack examined cyborg June's processor.

"You say she was created by the other world's Scalpel? Asked Wheeljack.

"Yes," said Sari. "and, we assume, Shockwave."

"We can make the repairs to her processor, resolving the fugue state," said Perceptor, "but I see that she also exhibits Decepticon programming. It's remarkable she managed to overcome it."

"The power of human love," smiled Sari, looking at Jack. He smiled back.

"Regardless, we have to first purge the Decepticon programming," said Wheeljack. "Only then can we perform repairs to take her out of the fugue state."

"How long will that take?" asked Jack.

"At least a solar cycle."

Jack, not yet fully familiar with Cybertronian time, looked at Sari. She smiled and said, "at least a day."

The two Technorganics left sick bay and relayed the information to their friends.

"Well, that's great news, Jack!" said TFA Optimus. "Of course, when she awakens, she'll be in shock to see what happened to her. She'll need you more than ever."

"Wheeljack said he'd contact me on my comm as soon as she's beginning to come to," Jack told them. "I will rush back here and be by her side."

"I have an idea, sir," said Sari to TFA Optimus. "Why don't you show our friends from the other side our Cybertron? And while you're doing that, I can take Jack to see Dataminer."

"Excellent idea, Sari!" he replied. And the TFA crew took the T:Prime Autobots around to tour a living, active Cybertron. Sari and Jack headed over to Dataminer's office. The trip will take about half a solar cycle.

"Why don't we fly?" asked Jack.

"No, not a good idea," Sari responded. "With only a few exceptions, Autobots don't fly; Decepticons fly. We don't want to cause unnecessary alarm. Let's board a shuttle."

* * *

"Well, there's Dataminer's office up ahead," said Sari. "He's been studying Technorganics for millions of years, beginning with the Maximals, all the way up to Wasp and even Blackarachnia."

"I have no idea who those are, but I'll assume they're Technorganics of one kind or another."

They arrived at the entrance. "Shall we go in?"

"Unannounced?"

"Oh, he likes visitors," she smiled, "especially bots like us."

The door opened up to a large reception room. On two walls were shelves of books, rolled-up maps and models. Another wall was filled with drawings, charts and diagrams. "Hello?" came a voice from the inner room. Dataminer walked out. He was an old bot, with a scholarly air about him. "May I help you? Oh! Sari! So nice to see you again!"

"Hello, Dataminer! I'm here with a Technorganic friend of mine," she said gesturing toward Jack. "This is Jack Darby."

"Well, hello, Jack! Always a great pleasure to meet another Technorganic!" He bent down, somewhat stiffly, to shake servos. He grabbed the table to steady himself. "Sorry, you'll have to excuse me, the old servos get cranky now and then."

"Pleased to meet you, sir!" said Jack, returning the servo shake.

"So, how may I be of assistance?"

"I was hoping you could give me an examination," said Jack, "and perhaps be able to answer some questions?"

"Oh, I'd be happy to help!" he replied. "Why don't you two come back into my lab?" And they headed to Dataminer's back room, where there was a large examination table, much like T:Prime Ratchet's. Surrounding the table were various scopes, measuring devices, and monitors.

"Hop up on the table and let me scan you with my equipment," he told Jack. And he obliged, jumping up and laying down. A green light covered Jack's chassis much like the time when Jack was examined by Ratchet. Several three-dimensional models of Jack's body appeared on large monitors, and a great deal of highly detailed data began scrolling down special display units.

Dataminer studied all of this with great interest. "Wonderful! Incredible!"

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Oh, each Technorganic has a wealth of data, Jack, but you and Sari in particular seem to possess a remarkable store! Where was your sparkling protoform found?"

"On Earth. Well, I mean, not on this Earth," he struggled to explain. He absent-mindedly started putting his servo on his helm, like he'd often do in "human" mode when he would run his fingers through his hair. Realizing he had no hair in "bot" mode, he stopped and put his servo down. Sari, noticing this, giggled.

"Jack's from a different dimension," explained Sari.

"A different dimension, you say?" he rubbed his chin. "Remarkable!"

"Well, regardless, the interesting thing, Jack, is that you possess just about the same number of mods as Sari. It's almost as if this dimension of yours parallels ours quite closely."

"Ratchet noticed some interesting differences," said Jack.

"Oh yes, yes indeed," said Dataminer. "I would attribute it to your being a mech."

"Now, I see from this data right here," he pointed to another monitor, "that your Technorganic development came to the fore only recently. You experienced a physical and emotion trauma."

"Wait. You can see that?"

"Why, yes. Everything is logged in your memory banks. It's how a medical bot can diagnose what went wrong with an ailing bot. So let me see. You had these traumas, and then, your…human organic side being…16…all these things combined was the trigger."

"So you are 16, Jack. It's almost like you are Sari's young cousin!" he chuckled. Sari rolled her optics and smiled.

"Now, let's see here. Interesting mods! Good, mech mods. Broadsword; X-ray vision! Most interesting!" He looked at Jack. "I assume Sari's helped you with your current set?"

"Yes! It's been great!"

"Wonderful, Jack! You'll do quite well with those. I hope you'll stop by from time to time. I'll be glad to check on your progress."

"One question that we had," said Sari. "Are you able to tell if Jack will have what I call my 'mojo' mod?"

"Oh? That ability of yours that allows you to 'speak' to electronic equipment? Let me see." And he studied Jack's data listings. "Hmm. Let me pull up Sari's list," and he pressed some keys on his keyboard. Sari's mod listing came up, and he studied both, side-by-side.

"Ah! Here it is!" he chuckled. "Machine interface mod. Not 'mojo mod'. Helps to know the right name," he smiled. "One of your very first, Sari. Now let's look at Jack's list." He studied the data. "Hmm, yes, yes, but not for a while, Jack. Now, isn't that interesting! Not for another 5 stellar cycles."

"Stellar cycles?"

"Years," said Sari.

"Just so," said Dataminer. "Such a useful mod, too. You know, Jack, I'm going to continue to study this data. If I gain an insight into the sequencing of your mods, I'll let you know – oh! But how shall I reach you, you being in that other dimension and all?"

"I can forward it to him," said Sari.

"Ah yes, your…older cousin can give it to you," he chuckled. Jack laughed. "Thanks, cuz!"

"Any other questions at this time, Jack?"

"No, nothing at this time, thanks!"

"Well, it's been a distinct pleasure, young bot!" and Jack jumped off the table. "A pleasure, sir!"

"Oh, please, all my Technorganic friends just call me Dataminer," he smiled.

"Well, a pleasure, Dataminer!" and shaking servos, Jack and Sari bid farewell to their bot friend.

"What a nice fellow!" Jack said, as they walked down the street.

"He was invaluable in my being able to get my Cybertronian citizenship," Sari told him. "He testified on my behalf that my sparkling protoform was indeed of Cybertronian origin."

* * *

When they got off the shuttle, Jack got a comm from Wheeljack. "Jack, we're done. Your mother will be coming out of her fugue state soon. I suggest you get here as soon as possible."

"Acknowledged, Wheeljack. On my way."

"Well, this is it," he said to Sari. She put her servo on his arm. "She'll need you now."

Jack arrived at cyborg June's bedside. A nurse bot was with her. "Her processor will be awakening in just a few cycles," she told Jack.

Jack looked at his mother. He was glad he was in "bot" mode, to help lessen the emotions he would have been feeling had he been in "human" mode. To see his mom, who only a few days ago was fully human, waking up to discover she'd had most of her humanity sliced out of her and replaced with Decepticon parts – that might have been too much for him to bear, and he wanted to be strong for her right now.

"Processor booting up," said the nurse bot. "Going through normal system check procedures. Sentience returning."

"Unnnh," said June.

"Mom?"

June opened her right eye and her left optic. With the Decepticon programming purge, her optic was now blue. She turned to the right to see her son.

"Jack! Oh, Jack!" She smiled.

"It's good to see you, Mom," he smiled back.

She looked around. "Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital on Cybertron; Sari's Cybertron.

"Cybertron? Why am I here, and not in an Earth hospital?"

Jack struggled for the words to explain this to her. "You were captured by the Decepticons. They, they…operated…on you. They…"

June gasped! "Oh! That tiny little bot! He, he cut into me! Oh God, oh God, oh God!"

"Processor is spiking uncontrollably," said the nurse bot, "employing low-level EMP," and she gave June a minor EMP shock to calm her down.

June calmed down, but was confused. She turned to her left, and saw the nurse bot. "What just happened?"

"Your processor was going into a dangerous spike. I employed a low-level EMP to bring it down to normal," she explained.

"Processor? EMP?" June turned back to Jack. "What is she talking about?"

"Mom, that little bot replaced most of your human organs with Cybertronian parts. The Decepticons…they, they turned you into a cyborg."

"What?!" June lifted up her arms and looked at them. She saw the armor covering them. She looked at her servos, and heard the whirring as she moved her digits, shoulders and elbows. "My God, Jack, what did they do to me?!"

"They downloaded your brain into a Cybertronian processor, and replaced your heart with a Spark. I'm sorry, Mom, this is all my fault!" He decided to transform into "human" mode then. "Ow!" he said, as the pain from his beating all came back. Tears came down, as he thought again how he was the cause of this happening to his mother.

June looked at Jack's beaten-up body and, temporarily forgetting her condition, gasped. "Jack! What happened to you?!" She reached over to touch his face.

"Um, well, you see, you beat me up."

"What?! I beat you up?"

"You see, the Decepticons put their programming into you to make you loyal to them. You started trashing the town, kind of like Kālī."

"I don't remember any of this."

"It was removed from your processor after they purged the Decepticon programming," explained the nurse bot.

June shook her head. "But why did I beat you up? Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry!"

"It was the only way to bring you back," he explained. "I confronted the Decepticon you, and kept reminding you of our relationship."

"There's a video that was captured from the bots who witnessed it," said the nurse bot, and turned on the monitor. June and Jack watched it. For her part, June was horrified, watching herself beating her own son! But she was also so proud of Jack, for not giving up, coming back again and again, until finally forcing that spark of recognition.

"Jack? You went through that for me? To bring me back?" A tear came to her eye.

"I did it for us, Mom! We're a family, the two of us, you and me." He held her servo in his hands.

She looked down at her cyborg body, looked at her glowing Spark chamber, and felt the left side of her head, with her robot ear and optic. "I don't suppose there any chance I'll be able to go back?"

"I don't think so," said Jack. "Your human parts were left on the floor of the Nemesis."

"So this will be me, from now on…ooh!" She suddenly felt sick.

"Mom! What's wrong?"

"I feel hot all of a sudden! Like I have a fever. And my face is burning where it's meeting my metal parts."

"Jack, I think I have an infection."

Jack looked at the nurse bot. "Do you have any organic specialists here?"

"Yes, let me go get him," and she left.

"I think I'm going to throw up," said June, and Jack ran to get a trash can. He held her forehead as she vomited up blood!

"Hold on, Mom!" Said Jack, worried.

* * *

"I'm afraid I have bad news," said the organic specialist. "Your temperature is 38.8 degrees Celsius, and rising. You have a systemic infection in your organic parts, and I am also detecting the beginnings of gangrene."

"Oh, no!" she replied.

"What does that mean?" asked Jack.

"I'm afraid it means I'm dying," said June. "That butcher of a bastard spider Decepticon just did a botch job putting me together. What organic parts I have left are beginning to die."

"What do we do?!" Jack was panicking.

"Let me go bring in Perceptor and Wheeljack," said the specialist.

"Please also call in Sari," said Jack.

* * *

"I have a suggestion, Mrs. Darby," said Perceptor. "We could perform an emergency Spark transplant and processor download."

"Into what, exactly?" she asked.

"Into an Autobot body," said Wheeljack. "We do it all the time for injured bots, or bots that are switching jobs, such as bots that have graduated from the Autotrooper Academy. They get fitted into the 256-OZU-004 body type."

"You mean, turn me into an Autobot?"

"At this juncture, I see it as the only logical choice," said Perceptor.

Sari looked at Jack. "How would it make you feel?"

"To have an Autobot for a Mom? Better than not having one at all!"

"Let's do it then," said June. Do I have a choice of bodies?"

"Of course," said Wheeljack, and he pulled the various body types up on the overhead monitor.

June and Jack studied them all. "This one looks like the smallest," she said, looking at body type 65356-9292-346. "At least, I won't be too much bigger than you, Jack."

"That's Glyph's body. Oh, that's right, you haven't met her," Sari remembered, then said, "it's also my world's Bumblebee."

"Oh, hey, June? Don't tell Bee you picked it because it's the smallest one," she smiled. "He's a little sensitive about his size."

"Do you have a color choice for the armor?" asked Wheeljack.

"Goodness, this is almost like choosing an automobile," she said.

"Speaking of which, you'll now be able to transform into one," smiled Sari.

"Ambulance. Gotta be an ambulance," she replied.

"Then I say you should choose red," Jack told her.

"Red it is."

One final thing," said Perceptor. "Additional mods. What specialization were you considering as an Autobot?"

June thought for a moment. "Oh, I would very much like to be a medic, like Ratchet."

"Not a problem. We will add medical mods. You will also need to apply to the Protihex Medical Mechanics University."

"I would be glad to do so!"

"Very good," he replied. "Let us begin. The sooner, the better." And they started to wheel June into the operating room.

"Bye, Mom," said Jack. "I will be there when you wake up."

June reached over and held Jack's hand in her servo. "See you soon, Jack. I love you so much!"

"Me too, Mom!" And he kissed her on the cheek.

"Well, Jack, this last week or so has been interesting, to say the least!" said Sari.

"I don't think I can take any more like this. Ow!" he said, as he remembered his wounds. He transformed back into "bot" mode. "Aaah! Much better."

"You know," Sari reminded him. "You're only postponing your healing by doing that."

* * *

"She's coming to," said Wheeljack.

June blinked her optics. "Are we done?"

"They're done, Mom. How do you feel?"

"Ooh, my processor aches a bit, and I feel a little dizzy. Is it OK for me to sit up?"

"Certainly," said Wheeljack, but let me help you. Just take it slowly. He took June's servo, and putting his arm on her back, helped her to a sitting position. She looked around "Jack?"

"Down here, Mom!" She looked down. Jack was about knee-height. "Oh yikes! That is definitely going to take some getting used to!"

June looked at her body. Red armor covered her forearms and shoulders, but her shoulders had a contrasting white stripe running along the inner edge. Her chest was red, with an Autobot insignia in the middle, and the same white accents on either side of the insignia. Her pedes were huge, and red Autobot armor covered her shins. "Nice!" She thought.

"Now, let's see how well you can get around, June," said Wheeljack. "Can you get up?" He supported her arm to help her stand. She got off the recovery room bed and put her Autobot pedes on the floor for the first time.

"This feels…very different! My feet, er, pedes, are a lot bigger than I'm used to, and the armor on my shins! It feels so different standing!"

"It's going to take getting used to. We have occupational and physical therapy bots that will train you," explained Wheeljack. "Don't worry, we won't let you leave until you are comfortable getting around."

"Since you're a new Autobot, you'll also need to go through some training, such as learning how to use your mods, and learning about your daily Energon intake."

"Welcome to drinking Energon, Mom!" said Jack.

"Let's try a few steps. I'll still hold you." She tried a few steps, but started to fall. "Yikes! Jack, Sari! Watch out!" Wheeljack grabbed her. "It's OK, June, I've got you!"

"Don't worry about us! We can jump out of the way easily!"

Wheeljack helped June back to her bed, and let her sit. "Don't worry, you just take it one step at a time."

"Oh, I'm familiar with that," she smiled. "When I was a human nurse, I said that to lots of patients."

"I believe you have lots of well-wishers waiting to see you," smiled Wheeljack. "Let me go for now, and I'll let them in." And leaving, he motioned for the others to enter.

Team Prime came in first. "Well, look at you, June!" Said Optimus. "I am very happy that you are doing well, and honored to welcome you to the Autobot family."

"Thank you, Optimus," she said.

"Hey there, June!" said Arcee. "Looking good! Maybe I'll have two trainees on my hands."

"Thanks, Arcee. Although I have to admit, it's going to take some getting used to, me being this size. You look a lot smaller than I remember," she laughed.

"June, I hear you wish to enter the Autobot medical field," said Ratchet. "Primus knows, we certainly need more bots."

"Perceptor told me I need to apply to the Protihex Medical Mechanics University," she told him. "the nurse bot said it's a two stellar cycle program," so I'll be away for a little while."

"You'll need to do it here in this dimension, of course," Ratchet told her," our university is long gone, and won't be restored for quite a while. Glad this one is still around."

"Hey! Any new techniques you learn, you have to show me!" he smiled.

**("Hi, June! Nice to see you in your new body!")**

"Thanks, Bumblebee! Hey! I can understand you!"

"Welcome to the world of Cybertronian communication, Mom!" said Jack.

The floor shook, and Bulkhead came in. "Well, June, you certainly look different! I mean, it's a good different! A lot better than you did before! I mean uh, just before, y'know, when you were a cyborg and all. Aw geez." He rubbed the back of his helm.

June laughed. "I know what you mean, Bulkhead," she smiled. "Thanks!"

"Well, let us go, so our friends from this world can come in," said Optimus. "You take care of yourself, June, and good luck with your upcoming therapies."

"Thanks everyone!" she said. And Team Prime left. TFA Optimus then came in with his crew and wished her well also. Later on, Wheeljack returned. "Alright everyone, June's had a very busy day, and needs a good recharge. She starts her occupational and physical therapy tomorrow, so let's let her rest." He looked down at Jack and Sari. "You two can stay a little longer."

"Thanks, Wheeljack," said Jack. And everyone else left.

"Oh, Jack, I'm so tired," June yawned. The nurse bot came in. "June, I have your Energon cube."

"Ah! My very first!"

"Bottoms up!" Jack smiled. And June held it in her servo. She looked at the nurse. "Just pour it into my mouth?"

"Correct. And let it flow down your tube into your tank."

June chuckled. "Tank. Gotta get used to that," she smiled. And poured it down. "You're right, Jack, no taste."

"Nope. No taste buds."

"No taste buds. No more pizza, hot dogs, cinnamon buns, KO burgers," she sighed. The Energon hit her tank. "Whoa! That felt weird."

The nurse bot smiled. "One cube a day. Now, get some rest, and recharge."

"Thanks, nurse," she smiled as she got back into bed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! What's your name?"

"Greenlight."

"Thanks, Greenlight. I was a nurse when I was a human on Earth."

"Oh, how wonderful, June! I know you'll make a great medical bot! Good night!"

"Good night, Greenlight."

"Good night, Mom!" said Jack.

"Good night, June!" said Sari. And the two left her as she quickly fell into a deep recharge.

**Thus begins a new chapter in June's life! Her human life is over, thanks to the Decepticons. What does the future hold for her? We shall see! Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A little bit after the last chapter. June has finished her therapy at the Cybertron Infirmary, and has settled in with Team Prime, living at Outpost Omega One.**

"So, it'll be four orbital cycles before you can enter the Academy?" said Ratchet.

"That's right," responded June. "The next series of classes won't begin until that time. But that's a good thing as it turns out. I've got lots of defensive and offensive training to learn, and Optimus has agreed to let Arcee be my tutor. I guess Jack and I will be learning side by side!"

"I've got a more severe problem of my own to deal with," she sighed.

"Oh! You mean about Jack."

"Yes. You see, he's only 16, and legally, he's a minor. He can't live in our old house alone – and obviously, I can't live there either - not anymore. I tried explaining things to the authorities, but they won't recognize me as his mother! Can you believe that?!" she said angrily.

Ratchet sighed. "It's a terrible thing, these isolated planetary civilizations with their ancient legal systems."

"Luckily, I've got two people going to bat for me: Agent Fowler and Isaac. Bill contacted Unit:E, and they dispatched a team of government attorneys to Jasper to argue my case. And Isaac said he's willing to step in and be Jack's guardian in my absence while I'm at the Academy. Isn't that wonderful?"

"You've got some good friends!"

"The hearing is tomorrow. I'm so worried! If the judge rules against us, they may place Jack in foster care!" June's face and optics betrayed her anguish.

Ratchet put his servo on her shoulder. "We're all here for you June," he said.

* * *

On the day of the hearing, a special Autobot-sized tent was erected outside the courthouse with audio-visual equipment, so June and her bot friends could participate. June sat in front, with Optimus by her side. Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Bulkhead where there also (Smokescreen was still in recovery). Inside were Jack, Sari (both in "human" mode), Isaac, Agent Fowler, and the Unit:E attorneys. Representing the other side was the state attorney and Child Protective Services.

"All rise!" said the Sergeant At Arms, announcing the entrance of the judge.

After the customary formalities, the judge read the briefs that had been prepared by both sides. "Where is the…Autobot called June?" he asked.

"I am here, your honor," she said from the video feed, standing up.

"According to the papers filed by the Unit:E attorneys, you were formerly the human mother of Jackson Darby; that you were abducted by the alien robots known as Decepticons, operated on, and turned into a cyborg, and due to the imminent death of your human organs, have been transplanted into an Autobot body?"

"Yes, your honor."

"And as an Autobot, it is your intent to reclaim your rights as Jackson's mother."

"That is correct, your honor."

"I see from the arguments filed by the state, parental rights can only be claimed by a living parent." He took off his glasses. "The papers say you were operated on, and all of your human organs have died. You are now a robot. Are you, as defined by the law, alive?"

The Unit:E lawyer stood up and was recognized. "You honor, if I may: Unit:E has been in contact with the Autobots for over five years now. They define themselves as 'Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron'. Since the official definition of an organism is 'any contiguous living system', then I would posit that the Autobots are, indeed, alive."

"Objection!" said the state attorney. "We are to limit ourselves to official legal definitions here, not pseudo-scientific speculation!"

"Sustained," said the judge. "Mrs. Darby – or, how shall I address you?"

"Mrs. Darby is very acceptable, your honor, thank you," she replied.

"Mrs. Darby, please answer my question. Are you, as defined by the law, alive?"

"Yes, your honor."

The judge sat back in his chair. "I'm afraid, according to the strict definition of the law, when your organs died, an argument can indeed be made that you died as well. Secondly, the case put forth by your attorneys notwithstanding, I do not see how it can be proven that Autobots are alive."

The Autobots gasped! Ratchet was about to say something, but Optimus turned and told him to be quiet.

The Unit:E attorney replied: "Your honor, if we adhere to the strict definition of the law, then it can also be argued that Jackson Darby is not alive."

"I beg your pardon?" the judge asked.

With your permission, I would like to prove my statement."

"Proceed." And the Unit:E attorney turned to Jack. "Jack, please approach the bench, and transform for the judge." And Jack got up and stepped in front of the judge. A flash of blue, and he transformed into his "bot" mode. The state attorney and the representative from Child Protective Services both gasped!

The judge stared at "bot" Jack. "Is this some kind of parlor trick, young man?"

"No, your honor," answered Jack in his metallic voice.

"Jack, perhaps you can demonstrate some of your mods for his honor," said his attorney – nothing threatening, mind you." And Jack stepped to the right and held up his left arm. There were clicking sounds, and he revealed his Skyboom Shield. He showed the judge how he was able to hold it in his servo, and how he is able to alter its size.

Retracting his shield, he faced the judge again. "With another of my mods, I can see your fraternity medallion, your honor," Jack said, using his X-ray vision. "Phi Alpha Delta" – it's on a chain around your neck."

"How can you see that?" he asked, putting his hand over his chest.

"In my Cybertronian form, I have X-ray vision."

The judge reached down and held up his attaché. "What do I have in here?"

"Some papers, your car keys – for a Cadillac Escalade, and your cell phone – a Blackberry. You'd better charge it soon, it's currently at 15%." He opened his attaché and examined his phone. Stunned, he put it back and closed the case.

"So Mr. Darby is also from this robotic planet?" he asked the Unit:E attorney.

"Yes, your honor. He is what is known as a Technorganic. Our agency is familiar with his type. He came from the planet Cybertron sixteen years ago. His normal form is that of an Autobot, but because of his contact with humans, he is capable of assuming human form."

"Very well," said the judge. "The court recognizes that you are not fully human, Mr. Darby." He turned to the both sets of attorneys. "If we are to deny that the current incarnation of June Darby is alive, then it is the opinion of this court that we cannot at the same time allow that Jackson Darby is alive, notwithstanding the fact that he can at times represent himself as human."

"Court will recess for one hour, while I make my final decision." He struck his gavel.

* * *

During the recess, everyone met in the Autobot tent.

"That decision of the judge sounded good," said Isaac. "I am so hoping for the right outcome, June."

"As am I," said Optimus.

"I was ready to say something when he said that we're not alive!" said Ratchet.

"That wouldn't have been a good idea, Ratchet," said June. "It would be against court decorum."

Ratchet scoffed. "Decorum! I'd like to give him a piece of my decorum!"

Eventually, the bell sounded, indicating the resumption of the hearing. "Here goes," said June, nervously. Everyone went to June and wished her well.

"All rise!" said the Sergeant At Arms again.

The judge sat down. "I have read and considered the arguments of both sides very carefully," he began. "The state presents a compelling case that June Darby is no longer alive, and with the father of Jackson Darby in absentia, he should be put into the custody of Child Protective Services pending transfer to Foster Care."

June sat up in her chair! Optimus put his servo on her arm.

"However," he continued. "the attorneys for the Autobot who represents herself as the mother of Jackson Darby have also demonstrated to this court convincing evidence that he himself is not completely human, and is in fact from the same alien race as the robot June Darby."

"If we are to interpret current law to mean that June Darby is not alive, then we must also interpret it to mean that Jackson Darby is not alive, which would by all appearances be a factual contradiction. Therefore, it is the opinion of this court that the Autobot June Darby, and by extension all Autobots, are indeed alive."

"If therefore, June Darby is alive, then she has the ability to petition this court to reclaim her rights as Jackson Darby's mother. And I hereby grant those rights, effective immediately."

June fell back in her chair, relieved! Everybot reached over and patted her on the back!

"Now, moving on to the next part of this hearing. I understand that June Darby can no longer live in their current house, given the fact that as an Autobot she is now…25 feet tall." [There were a few chuckles from the audience].

"Jackson needs to live in the same domicile as his mother. Where will that be?"

The Unit:E attorney stood up. "Your honor, we have made appropriate accommodations for Jack to live at the Autobot headquarters. That is where his mother currently resides."

"Very well. Let it be known that effective immediately, Jackson's home address will be at…Autobot Outpost Omega One."

"Finally," said the judge, "there is the matter of a guardian for Jackson while June attends the...'Protihex Medical Mechanics University' on the planet Cybertron, which is a 2-year program."

"Isaac Sumdac, please stand," the judge requested.

"I am here, your honor," Isaac stood up.

"Professor Sumdac, you have filed papers to be Jackson's guardian during this 2-year period."

"Yes, your honor."

"And your qualifications have been attested to by the Federal Government, courtesy of Unit:E," the judge continued. Does Child Protective Services have any objections?"

"No, your honor."

"Very well. This court grants guardianship of the minor Jackson Darby to Professor Isaac Sumdac, to begin immediately following June Darby's departure for Protihex Medical Mechanics University. Guardianship will last until her return, or Jackson's 18th birthday, whichever comes first."

He struck his gavel. "That will be all for now. This hearing is adjourned."

Everyone got up and cheered, both inside the court house and in the Autobot Tent! Jack ran outside and went to his mom. He fired up the plasma boosters on his pedes and flew up to her helm, then transformed just his head so he could plant a big kiss on her Autobot cheek. "Congratulations, Mom! We won!"

"We were always a family, Jack, you and I, she smiled, "it just took the courts a little while to figure it out!"

Sari came up. "Congratulations, you two!"

Bill and the Unit:E attorneys came out to wish the Darbys well. "Glad we were able to be of assistance!"

Finally, Isaac said to Jack, "Looking forward to helping out as soon as June heads to school, Jack! You and I can be trans-dimensional commuters, eh?" he smiled.

The Darbys thanked everyone for their support!

"Well, gotta get all my stuff moved," Jack said.

"Hey, Jack! There's one thing you're not gonna need!" said Bulkhead.

"Oh? What's that?"

"A moving company!" Everyone laughed.

* * *

The final bell rang at Memorial High School. Jack, Raf, and Miko came out of the front doors and walked down the steps. Waiting for them at the curb was an ambulance. The doors opened as they approached.

"Hi, Mom!" said Jack, getting in the passenger side. Raf and Miko got in the back as the doors closed.

"Hi, Jack," said June from the dashboard speakers, the Autobot insignia lighting up with her words. "How was school today?" as the ambulance drove off.

"Great! Biology class was interesting. We had a discussion about what life is. The teacher argued that it was impossible for life to exist in metal! I transformed and asked 'Oh yeah? What about me'?

"Jack! I hope you didn't get in trouble!" she argued.

"Well, not too much." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"What do you mean, 'not too much'?" And don't think I can't see you running your fingers that way!" she said, turning her rear view mirror at him, "I know what it means when you do that."

He sighed. "He agreed to consider my point, but told me not to be so confrontational. Said he would have preferred that I talk to him outside of class. You may be getting a call from him."

June sighed. "Thanks for the warning. I'll…look forward to his call."

They turned a corner. "Well, here's your house, Raf!" He got out. "Thanks, Mrs. Darby! See you tomorrow!"

They came by Miko's house. "OK Miko, we're here. Miko? Miko!" June moved one of the examination lights in the back around and poked her. "Hey! Take the earplugs out and stop the game! You're home!"

"Whaaa…? Oh!" She got out. "See ya!"

June sighed. "That girl…" They continued driving, and turned down a familiar street. There was a "For Sale" sign on one.

Jack looked at it. "How's the sale going, Mom?"

"The real estate agent thinks we've got a good buyer. They actually want all the furniture too!"

"All except mine, of course!" he laughed. "I've got myself a really nice setup in that old commander's office. Agent Fowler said he's jealous!"

"Well, Isaac said he's taking everything from the sale and putting it into a good trust fund for you. He's a very successful businessman, so even though he's from the other dimension, he's been studying the market here and knows some good investments for the portfolio."

"So…? How much homework today?"

"Got a few things to do."

"Just how much is 'a few things'?"

Jack sighed. "Biology, Algebra, English."

"Well you do those first!"

"But, Arcee's got a training session for me! I told her I'd be ready for her as soon as I got home!"

"Too bad. You know the rules, homework first, training second. I've got training too! Arcee's my teacher also, you know."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I know, Mom."

"Oh! And don't let Arcee and me bend down and catch you playing video games instead of doing homework, like we did last night!"

Jack started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that, a couple weeks ago, you and I were a normal, human mother and son, having regular mother and son arguments exactly like this one. Now, I'm a Technorganic half human Cybertronian and you're a 25-foot tall Autobot who's driving me home as an ambulance and talking to me through the steering wheel."

"Everything's changed, yet at the same time, nothing's changed!" They both shared a good laugh.

* * *

"So, Starscream, your ideas have yielded yet another miserable failure."

"Lord Megatron! The failure was not my fault! It was obviously the fault of that little butcher Scalpel! He's the one who created the Technorganic clone! He's the one who created the cyborg with the failed homing device!"

"All of these were done by your recommendations!" Megatron stepped toward Scream and towering over him, looked down and glared angrily. "Do you not accept responsibility for your failures, or do you only accept responsibility for your successes!"

"I…I"

"I am through with your ideas, Starscream!" said Megatron. "Get rid of your Doctor!"

Megatron walked away from the cowering Starscream. "There are other ideas I will pursue." He turned to his First Lieutenant for Scientific Endeavors. "Shockwave; this experiment of yours. When will it be ready?"

"I am nearing completion, my Liege. With your permission, I can show you its embryonic form."

"By all means!"

And the scientist led Megatron, Starscream and Knockout to the level of the Nemesis containing his laboratory. There, in a special work area, was a large monitor displaying an animated three-dimensional model of Cyber-Nucleic Acid.

Shockwave studied it. "That is extremely ancient!" he observed.

"Indeed," said Shockwave. "I have studied it from a specimen I found buried in the Sea of Rust, and it has yielded promising results. It is from this I was able to build my weapon." He pressed a key on his workstation and a door opened to reveal an enormous sealed cylinder, stretching from floor to ceiling, filled with green fluid. Floating in the cylinder was a huge, dragon-like Cybertronian beast. Still incomplete, it was yet to gain full consciousness.

Shockwave turned to his master. "I present to you, Lord Megatron, the ultimate Autobot hunter."

**Thus ends this episode of "Sari and Transformers Prime". We will pick up episode 3 with Jack and June learning from Arcee and Sari (June before she leaves for University), and helping out Team Prime – but only in their capacity as trainees, of course!**

**Then there is the matter of rebuilding Cybertron, and mother and son can certainly help out there (Jack in "bot" mode gets to visit Cybertron before Miko!). But on the dark side, there is the matter of a certain Autobot hunter. Plus, there is interaction between the two dimensions.**

**Thanks for reading this episode! Please review.**


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